Read First Contents Document - Super Duper Objects

<b>Super-Duper Objects</b> is a practice-based research project that advances contemporary ceramic discourse by expanding Louise Mazanti’s concept of the “Super Object.” Mazanti identifies objects that exist between autonomous art and functional design. Building on this foundation, this project proposes the <b>Super-Duper Object</b>: ceramic vessels that employ the visual language and production systems of functional pottery yet deliberately refuse utility. The research explores how ceramic forms can carry layered, speculative, and autobiographical narratives without relying on traditional use.The investigation was developed through a rigorous, two-year studio methodology rooted in repetitive making cycles. Over 1,000 works were produced through throwing, extruding, altering, hand-building, and re-firing. This iterative process enabled continuous material testing and refinement, and supported a sustained inquiry into how ceramic processes can generate meaning. Found materials, domestic motifs, embroidery, kitsch imagery, and elements of chance were incorporated to introduce ambiguity, disrupt expectations of taste, and foreground themes of labour, the everyday, and the body.The project draws on Mazanti and on Glenn Adamson’s writing on the critical potential of craft’s marginal position. Through this lens, the Super-Duper Object challenges hierarchical distinctions between fine art and craft, aligning with wider contemporary debates on material practice, value, and cultural identity.Three key bodies of work demonstrate the research outcomes. <b>Smalls</b> (2022) presents approximately 100 thrown vessels hung on a washing line, linking domestic labour to ceramic repetition. <b>Super-Duper Objects #1</b> and <b>#2</b> (2022–23) consist of hundreds of altered porcelain and stoneware forms embellished with mixed media, creating playful, speculative narratives that unsettle assumptions of function and taste.The work was exhibited at Salford Museum and Gallery in 2023 and viewed by more than 11,000 visitors. Public engagement included a private view, artist talks, and workshops. Subsequent exhibition of the works has further extended reach, demonstrating cultural impact and contribution to contemporary ceramics.