The Sun
Paper clay and glaze
27cm x 20cm x 7cm
The Sun, Rising Tulip, and Little Blossom are some of the many ceramic altars I have created inspired by the glory of nature and my yearning for connection to my ancestors. I think a lot about the cultures and lives of those who came before me. Their practices, their art, their beauty and their ugliness. I created these pieces in the hope that they open the door for many of us to be honest about, and connected to, the truth of our personal and shared histories as colonisers of so-called Australia.
— Ellyse Wiltshire
Paper clay and glaze
27cm x 20cm x 7cm
The Sun, Rising Tulip, and Little Blossom are some of the many ceramic altars I have created inspired by the glory of nature and my yearning for connection to my ancestors. I think a lot about the cultures and lives of those who came before me. Their practices, their art, their beauty and their ugliness. I created these pieces in the hope that they open the door for many of us to be honest about, and connected to, the truth of our personal and shared histories as colonisers of so-called Australia.
— Ellyse Wiltshire
Paper clay and glaze
27cm x 20cm x 7cm
The Sun, Rising Tulip, and Little Blossom are some of the many ceramic altars I have created inspired by the glory of nature and my yearning for connection to my ancestors. I think a lot about the cultures and lives of those who came before me. Their practices, their art, their beauty and their ugliness. I created these pieces in the hope that they open the door for many of us to be honest about, and connected to, the truth of our personal and shared histories as colonisers of so-called Australia.
— Ellyse Wiltshire
Ellyse Wiltshire is a ceramic artist based in Meanjin. Ellyse is a fourth-generation descendant of English, Scottish, Irish, German, Danish, Norwegian and Swedish colonisers of so-called Australia. To become united in their mutual goal of stealing Aboriginal land, Ellyse’s ancestors surrendered many of their unique cultural identities when they came to Australia. Thus, despite such diverse roots, Ellyse feels disconnected from the practices, songs, traditions and festivals of those that came before.
Drawing on motifs found in European folk art, Ellyse makes ceramics inspired by their cultural heritage and pre- and post-Christian spirituality. Ellyse’s work encourages audiences to cultivate a practice of presence and gratitude while connecting with parts of their own cultural heritage their ancestors may have surrendered in favour of monolithic whiteness. Ellyse’s practice highlights the shallowness of white Australian life and the harm we inflict on First Nations people through cultural homogeneity underpinned by white supremacy.
@underthesunceramics