Drawing upon Dutch Still Life Painting of the 17th century, Still Life Stories by Maria Volokhova presents a series of multipurpose porcelain food containers in forms that echo those of the classical Vanitas paintings (ex: dead animals) but interpret them in a contemporary manner.
“Still Life Stories” straddles the border between art and design, pure aesthetics and functionality. It is intended to facilitate an experimental dinner party, by opening new ways of experiencing the meal. The abundance of consumer and material culture is both parodied and literally rendered as food for thought.
These serving plates, bowls, and cups take the shape of living and lively animals while simultaneously playing cadavers. Besides the animal food containers there are also abstracted organic shapes from the inside of the body.
Though originally interested and trained in printmaking, Ukrainian artists Maria Volokhova decided to study china-making to be able to express the fragility of inner organs both in the visual and tactile dimensions.
Images courtesy of Maria Volokhova
Discover: www.volokhova.com
