Collect

Artist – Thus That Studio

Medium: Bauxite Residue

Red Mud, a.k.a. bauxite residue is a waste of the aluminium industry. For every part of aluminium made, two and a half times more red mud is also produced. The result is 150 million tonnes produced each year, left unused in giant pits. This project probes at our aversion to hazardous waste and the realities of production aftermaths. What beauty can be found within the wasteland? Working with factories and research labs, the industrial residue is transformed into ceramic bodies and glazes.

These vases can be used as floor vases in a set, or individually as tabletop vases. Their forms echo the factory archetypical forms of silos and chimneys.Each piece is made in the studio by hand. The red mud is sourced from the South of France, the birthplace of aluminium production (and of red mud), processed into clay by hand, and cast using traditional ceramicist methods.