Woeful Bowlful

A correlation of pollinator decline and agricultural collapse, in stoneware.

Conceptualised over a decade ago, this project finally took material steps over 2022 when artist Chris Hagen was given the opportunity to return ceramics to his practice after years of focus on photography and printmaking.

Knowing of beekeeping in the family history, having close friends working in agricultural apiculture, working as an apiary farmhand in Minnesota, and arriving in Brisbane all offered perspective on the interdependence of humanity and pollinators — wherein humans are barely keeping up their end of the relationship.

In the Highgate Hill showroom of closed-loop manufacturing advocates Seljak Brand and Five Mile Radius, Woeful Bowlful is an installation of stoneware multiples offering a walk through an exaggerated honeycomb. Aesthetically diverse honeycomb-cell and bowl-proportioned forms give way to unfired and degrading fragments in this illustration that empty hives will lead to empty bowls.

Special thanks to Barrett Old Mill Honey, Bird & the Bees, and Bee One Third for employing a bee-fascinated artist; family & friends worldwide for immeasurable practice support; Richard deHaan of Clay at the Precinct for his patient and compelling instruction; Jack Fitz-Walker for generous material donations; and Seljak Brand / Five Mile Radius for their shared ethos and shared space.

Join Hagen, collaborator Peter Breen and Lillian Whitaker for a conversation on the closing day – Sun 28 May.