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Populuxe: graduate ceramic sculptures

TAFE SA graduate and Adelaide-based ceramic artist Simone-Clare Hede presents her first solo exhibition of hand-built works at the Nexus Multicultural Arts Centre.

Titled Populuxe, the exhibition showcases a total of ten new works made from clay, each created to examine the consumerist trends that began in America with the dawn of television in the 1950s.   

“The term Populuxe was coined by American author Thomas Hine, as a means of expressing populism, popularity and luxury. This synthetic word reflects the boom of the mass-consumer culture experienced in America in the decade between 1954 and 1964,” Simone-Clare says. “It is a contradiction in terms, as low-cost consumer goods were also perceived as being stylish or highly fashionable. Television was the catalyst behind this massive growth in consumption and it continues to be a powerful influence in modern society.”   

Simone-Clare’s latest body of work reflects this notion, with ceramic vessels depicting consumers glued to the television screen in a zombie-like trance, wall-mounted vintage automobiles and colourful TV sets featuring grotesque versions of commercials common to the 1950s. Her work is highly decorative, with a complicated mix of imagery and techniques involving under-glaze decoration and the development of computer altered ceramic decals. 

After graduating from the Adelaide Centre for the Arts in 2008, Simone-Clare’s striking hand-built ceramic work was featured earlier this year in the 2009 Helpmann Academy Graduate Exhibition at the Adelaide Fringe Festival.