Traditionally, decorative ceramic figurines represent kitsch beauty and serenity. Upon first glance, they are appropriate only for decorating your granny’s cabinet. British artist Jessica Harrison took an interest in these ceramic sculptures and reinvented the medium. She covered refined young women who resemble Jane Austen’s characters in neck-to-wrist sailor tattoos. As a result, her modified porcelain ladies appear slightly humorous, grotesque but undeniably fascinating.
Jessica has a wonderful taste for the bizarre. She takes a mixed media approach in order to create a beautiful juxtaposition of an old-fashioned idealized view of a woman and a modern notion of femininity.
The artist selects and modifies mass produced old ceramics. She gives fragile figurines a new life and turns them into extravagant yet delicate works of art by painting ships and mermaids, swallows and pigeons, skulls and hearts, roses and snakes on them.
Jessica managed to achieve stunning results in marrying twisted beauty and delicacy, mass production and creativity.
The artist holds a balance between elegance and rebellion, purity and flamboyance. By heavily tattooing the figurines, she gives these sleek representations of femininity standards personality and complexity. Even dressed in ball gowns, they look adventurous!
