JURAT

Murano Sculptural Vessels​

Since 2017, we experimented with Venetian glassblowers on the island of Murano diverse techniques to achieve new textures in glass; we sourced various types of metal waste from surrounding factories and infused them within glass. The process consists of working with metals in different states - powder, molten and chunks - and reacting them through different calibers of temperature within the glass. The experiments result in a wide array of extra-terrestrial formations between the two materials. The attained lava-stone textures allow light to filter through the transluscent glass-metal material.

​

Conjuring textures of excavated eroded artefacts, we were drawn to the rich history of glassblowing to determine the forms of this new collection. Made in Murano, the material’s epicentre of craft, we drew connections and shared knowledge of glass-making between the Venetian lagoon and our own heritage, across the Mediterranean region, and Ancient Egypt to Lebanon. The most common legend around the first discovery of glass, dating to the Phoenicians (1500-300 BC), notes the fusion of certain metals and sand to birth a new material. Production sites were found in Mesopotamia, modern day Egypt and Syria, and reach as far as the Mediterranean in the Hellenistic age (400-100 BC).

​

Bearing resemblance to archaeological cinerary urns, unguentarium and other glass-blown objects placed in tombs as offerings in Ancient times, ’Jurat’ addresses the value of time on objects. The vessels playfully conjure the illusion of time travel presenting as objects excavated from another century but their contemporaneity is visible through their form and texture on closer inspection. Once mouth-blown to form, each unique 'Jurat' vessel underwent several distorting techniques including pinching, flattening, poking, and compressing.