ATTRITION
)
Company / Designer
Jonas Tew
What is it?
ATTRITION is a sculptural piece made from single-fired stoneware ceramic and cast recycled aluminium. The work explores what happens when two very different materials are brought together, while experimenting with lower-energy production, industrial waste and material reuse.
ATTRITION rethinks both the materials used to create an object and the waste generated during its production.
The ceramic is fired only once, eliminating the conventional biscuit-firing stage and reducing the energy required during production. Unfired clay offcuts are then repurposed to form a temporary casting mould through which waste aluminium from industry can be cast.
Once the casting process is complete, the clay from the mould can be reclaimed and reused. Even the sculpture's eventual deterioration has been considered, with broken ceramic fragments able to be recycled into future clay bodies.
The result is a fascinating example of circular thinking, where waste, making, transformation and eventual destruction all become part of the material lifecycle.
The Story Behind ItAt the heart of ATTRITION is the incompatibility between aluminium and ceramic.
Aluminium naturally expands and contracts as ambient temperatures change, while ceramic remains comparatively stable. Over decades, this subtle movement is expected to slowly fracture the ceramic, not through deliberate force, but simply through the natural behaviour of the two materials.
As the ceramic gradually breaks apart, its fragments can be returned to future clay bodies, transforming deterioration into an opportunity for renewal.
)
){kind=logo}
){kind=logo}
)
)
)
)
){kind=logo}
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)