Hand-Built Porcelain Sculptures by Nuala O’Donovan Mimic Fractal Patterns Found in Nature

Irish artist Nuala O’Donovan sculpts intricate hand-built porcelain forms that resemble fractal patterns found in nature. Borrowing from shapes found in coral, teasel flowers, and pinecones, O’Donovan examines not only patterns, but irregularities that arise from random or unexpected events.

According to an artist: “The result of using the characteristics of fractal geometry in making decisions regarding the form of the sculptural pieces, is that the form is resolved but retains a sense of potential change. The viewer engages with the piece by allowing their own visual experiences to influence their view of the outcome of the form and its future possibilities. I hope that this aspect of my work also evokes the transitory quality of living organisms, combining traces of history, the present and the future, in the patterns that make up their surfaces and forms.”

Photo credits: Sylvain Deleu and Janice O’Connell.