Marjatta Kaukomaa, Large Pot with Logo, 2020. Ceramic, stains and paint. Courtesy: the artist and Willoughby City Council.

The Incinerator presents Ravaged by artists Marjatta Kaukomaa and Pamela Smith. Kilns and incinerators have much in common: intense heat is required to both create and break down material. What results? Ash, cinders, beauty and detritus, and the inevitable wear and tear, ageing and reinvention of all industrial hardware.

Kaukomaa’s work references boilers, pipes, concrete, bricks, machinery, fragments, rust and the effects of time in complex sculptural assemblages which enhance the pieces’ utility and beauty. Smith’s elegant functional forms highlight the textured surfaces weathered by embers and cinders. These forms are a visual reminder that the process of ceramic creation is a complex interplay of heat, artistic eye and serendipity.

The gallery is open and practicing COVID-19 social distancing measures.