Morra Ceramics: Life Pause

October 7th - 14th  2022

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"Life pause" is a project that gathers and presents the stories and experiences of Ukrainian citizens who fled the war and temporarily settled in Croatia, together with ceramic objects created collaboratively between artists and participants. At the workshops held in Zagreb, Jelsa and Split, the artists collaborated with individuals from the Ukrainian communities, bringing them together to make clay plates decorating them with various plants. During the workshops, the participants were sharing their experiences and stories about leaving Ukraine in the middle of the invasion, about the first moments of the war in their homes, schools, about the changes that sudden and disruptive transitions brought to their lives and the lives of their loved ones.

 

In the process of making clay objects, numerous dimensions and metaphorical meanings of the selected plants were considered, as carriers of memories and emotional impressions in the form of prints in wet clay. "Life pause" in this dimension considers the bonds between people and the hidden meanings and dimensions of the nature, with the aim of creating a safe environment for sharing, but also encouraging the integration of individuals into the social life and culture of the places where the workshops took place.

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Morra Ceramics is a Ukrainian ceramic duo founded by Anastasia Vishynakova and Yana Guselnikova. They combine ceramics with social activism by sharing stories and messages through the creation and distribution of ceramic objects, often through a workshop format. After fleeing from Kharkiv before the Russian invasion, Nastya and Yana found a new temporary home in Zagreb, where with exceptional power of will and with the help of donations, they restarted their production and social pottery studio.

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The exhibition was created by LAB852, Održivi otok and Jelsa Art Bijenale.