DAVID RAY

Australian ceramicist David Ray’s exhibition Liminality explores the drastic impressions that environmental issues on a global scale are having on our society, from both a social and economic standpoint. Taking inspiration from the ideologies around consumerism and the juxtaposition between form and function when it comes to the use of ceramics in our society and how it can often symbolise opulence, aesthetics, and social status. The use of a Neo Classical aesthetic carries the ideologies of the Industrial Revolution, where celebrating excess became a foundation for modern-day celebration of the machine over nature. This created a society that is often encouraged to purchase more than they need, to acquire status symbols, and to constantly seek the newest and most extravagant products or media trends. This Neoclassical baroque aesthetic which Ray utilises in a contemporary manner alongside his handmade craftsmanship expresses what he describes as a “complex relationship between ‘beauty and ugliness.”

Environmental issues within today's public climate is a discourse that is often discussed and debated, with many striving to delay the decline of our planet's natural ability to create resources and remain inhabitable. With Liminality, Ray has taken his Contemporary Baroque style and incorporated it into the presented works to express the fact that humanity stands on the brink of a crucial choice: either revolutionising our approach to managing the Earth's resources or perpetuating the destructive machinery of industrial systems. Ray displays this with his use of flamboyant and decorative elements of Baroque design and juxtaposes them with haunting apocalyptic imagery, including clad figures in gas masks. This only enhances the ideas surrounding consumerism and its direct impact on the environment. These arresting visuals serve to amplify the discourse surrounding consumerism's deleterious impact on the environment, reinforcing the urgency of adopting more sustainable and conscientious approaches to our collective future.

David Ray (AKA ‘The Duke of Dirt”) was born in 1972 in Ararat, Victoria, Australia. He graduated with Honours of Fine Arts (Ceramics) from RMIT, Melbourne 1995 and throughout his 30 year career, he has established himself as one of Australia’s leading ceramic artists. His artwork is held in numerous Australian and International collections, including the National Gallery of Victoria, Minneapolis Institute of Art, Clay Studio Philadelphia, University of Queensland Museum of Art, and Victoria College of the Arts Margaret Lawrence Australian Ceramics Collection.