Caroline Achaintre
She-Balls, 2011
Ceramic, leather
29 x 20 x 8cm
Originally trained as a blacksmith before coming to London in the late 90s to study art, Caroline Achaintre’s works often reference craft traditions, be it by hand tufting wool, basket weaving or working with clay and ceramics. While she creates abstract forms, the final pieces have a strong sense of personality and bodily presence, often with carnivalesque and playful tones.
She-Balls is no exception. The pattern that forms the base is reminiscent of an animal skin — particularly the crosshatching found on snakes, lizards or armadillos (‘little armoured one’ in Spanish). This idea of protecting what lies beneath continues when reading the ceramic form as a mask-like shape. The mask has the potential to conceal emotions that lie beneath, present a false pretence or in this case perhaps even fetishize the wearer.