Post-Pastoral Ceramics: A Distinctive Ecological Language

In this paper I assert that ceramics speaks with a distinctive visual language, and argue that when this language is applied to ecological cultural theory, some distinctive theoretical nuances arise. One example of this is the intersection between ceramics and the theory of "post-pastoral" outlined by British ecological cultural critic Terry Gifford in 1999. In this paper I argue that the work of three Australian ceramic artists, Ken Yonetani, Louise Boscacci and Vipoo Srivilasa, demonstrates distinctive theoretical nuances of ceramic post-pastoral. I identify three nuances featured in ceramic post-pastoral. The first is the fragility of ceramics, a quality that has been utilised in Ken Yonetani's installations. The second is ceramics' close association with domestic utilitarian forms, which is evident in Louise Boscacci's work. The third is the role that ceramics can play in facilitating intimate interactions between people and ecological ideas through dining events, which I will discuss in relation to Vipoo Srivilasa's practice.