Echoes in the Shells

Keywords: Futurity, Culture, Illustration, Visual Metaphor, 3D Objects 

Echoes in the Shells explores the fragility and ephemerality of life through a series of clay and ceramic 3D objects as visual metaphors. The project draws inspiration from Lakoff and Johnson’s famous book Metaphors We Live By, as well as Joseph Kosuth’s work One and Three Chairs, and Joseph Cornell’s poetic boxes, reflecting on the cultural constructs and metaphors that shape our understanding of the world. By working with fragile materials like ceramics, eggshells and oyster shells, the project emphasizes the impermanence of human and animal existence, at the same time considering how cultural narratives around life, death, and relationships are built on metaphorical frameworks. In terms of futurity, the project discusses how fixed cultural metaphors might evolve and change with time as there are more and more uncertainties in the future. It invites audiences to consider the roles that metaphors play in shaping the collective culture and visions of the future. 

Lakoff, G. and Johnson, M. (1980) Metaphors We Live By. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. 

Museum of Modern Art Joseph Kosuth One and Three Chairs 1965. Available at: https://www.moma.org/collection/works/81435 (Accessed: 27 March 2024). 

Royal Academy of Arts (2015) Joseph Cornell Wanderlust. Available at: https://www.royalacademy.org.uk/exhibition/joseph-cornell (Accessed: 19 September 2024). 

The World Is Not My Oyster 

Clay and Oyster Shells 

The World Is Not My Oyster 

Clay and Oyster Shells 

Journey Through the Impermanence 

Ceramics