Larissa Warren | Too Much to Dream

Larissa Warren Too Much to Dream                                                                                  

I often experience recurring dreams where I can take semiconscious control of the events as they unfold. In this particular dream, centred in a lush backyard forest, I anticipated large pots emerging from the volcanic clay underneath. I felt the porcelain pull between my fingers, visualised the saturated hues and I carried the weight of their big bellies in my arms.

Being aware of my obsessional tendencies to continually think about making pots, I expanded on this state of consciousness, took these enduring memories into the studio and made my dreams permanent objects.

I like the hidden and forgotten stories that a place holds in its geology and its people. Often buried by time these stories are lost to shifts in generations and the changing use of land, but places contain layers of meaning always bound to history and that is what my work explores.

With support from locals and the traditional owners of Tamborine Mountain, I source volcanic clays of various colours and states. Starting with a fascination of patterns and contrasting texture, I embed hectic nerikomi pattern slices of colour, found clays and raw minerals into vessels which divulges contrasts and clays unpredictable nature. These pots have been fired in a gas kiln in heavy reduction; causing the iron clays to flux, resulting in a colour transformation from rich reds to deep browns and blacks.

Larissa Warren 2022

Hear a detailed description of Larissa's process in an insightful interview with Barbie Robinson from Living Arts Canberra here:

https://www.livingartscanberra.com.au/podcasts/visual-arts-interviews/