British artist Tamsin van Essen captures the fragile moment when abundance turns to decay in these ceramic works inspired by 17th century Dutch vanitas paintings. The exuberant decoration disrupts the vases’ forms, implying deterioration and ruin. She says the works are “frozen in time as disintegration begins, . . .  hinting at the impermanence of material existence and the inevitable decline of beauty.”

The London-based artist, a graduate of the Royal College of Art, specializes in conceptual design and uses the medium of ceramics to explore scientific, medical and social historic themes.

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