Claire Ellis
Claire Ellis — 'Renewable energy stimulus can create three times as many Australian jobs as fossil fuels', Ceramic Sculpture, 2026
Part of Break To Open, a series of oversized money jars responding to anti-renewable
and economic disinformation produced and circulated by the fossil fuel industry and its
beneficiaries.
The “new climate denial” strategy has shifted from disputing the existence of
human-caused climate change to undermining solutions and delaying action. Inspired
by medieval British tudor money boxes that collected payments only accessible by
breaking the container, these sealed ceramic forms serve as a metaphor for restrictions
on public wealth, understanding, and progress.
Recycled green glass blended into recycled clay leaks from the vessels, replacing the
traditional copper and lead green glaze. A continuation of extensive experimentation,
the coil-built and wheel-thrown forms are single-fired electrically and made using local
circular materials. Each artwork title references news articles intended as searchable
sources for dispelling myths and encouraging informed conversation.
—
Claire Ellis is a Canadian–Australian self-taught ceramic artist based in Coburg North,
Naarm. Shaped by her former career as a chef and her experience living and working
across two settler colonies, her practice is grounded in experimentation, material inquiry,
and an ethic of care, alongside a critical engagement with systems, politics, and
processes of change.
Working with local by-products and waste streams derived from mined materials, Ellis
engages ceramics as a way to attend to and revalue what is typically discarded or
overlooked. Her work investigates supply chains and systems change, with a focus on
seeking to process and make visible the social, environmental, and often obscured
economic damage caused by the mining industry in Australia.
—
FUTUREOBJEKT — Melbourne Art Fair — February 19 – 22 2026
Conscious Craft - The Future is in the Making
Design begins with desire – with the urge to create, to connect and to shape the future. Conscious Craft – The Future is in the Making invites audiences into a space where exceptional design meets deep material intelligence. Curated by Craft, this exhibition showcases the work of four pioneering artists and makers: Isabel Avendaño-Hazbún, Billie Civello, Claire Ellis, and Locki Humphrey.
Read more about the exhibition here:
Material: Recycled glass clay body, discontinued Australian pennies, urushi tree resin
Dimensions: 76 x 61 x 61cm
Please note when purchasing, exhibition works are to be collected when exhibition closes.
Shipping costs may be estimates. Please feel free to contact shop@craft.org.au who will be available to provide an Art Courier quote or shipping costs for larger items.