Covid-19 update: The gallery and shop on Great Russell Street is currently closed however, you can still see the pieces in this exhibition and shop online – just scroll down. To be the first to hear when we will re-open join our mailing list on the homepage.
About Emotions of the Inorganic
“What are our emotions?” – a question often asked within scientific communities working within artificial intelligence and neuroscience.
How we decide what we like or dislike, deciding what is beautiful or ugly, has interested ceramic artist Akiko Hirai for many years. Finding biological or chemical reactions, environments and the physicality of objects all to be connected, in this collection she makes associations between physical phenomenons, for example the reactions that happen within her kiln, and her own personal emotional input and output.
Using variations of wood ash and a range of firing cycles to create surface effects on the pieces in this collection, Akiko has harnessed the raw materials and reduction firing process to form unique sculptural pieces in reactive combinations that appear to drip with layers of colour and texture.