GEORGINA CAULTON · EXHIBITION ARCHIVE
The Face is Built for Empathy
Pushing Clay, Forsyth Barr Contemporary Ceramics Award 2026
I’m thrilled to have been selected for Pushing Clay 2026 in Nelson, with my ceramic work The Face is Built for Empathy.
A huge thank you to HIWA | Arts Council Nelson and the team at Tāwera for bringing together such an exciting and edgy celebration of contemporary ceramics.
Congratulations to all the other finalists. It’s a pleasure to be exhibiting alongside you!
Making the invisible visible
Four ceramic figures give the invisible presence of AI a tangible form. Doll-like faces and machine bodies bring human and technological references together, while clay's weight, texture and imperfections give the figures a grounded physical presence.
This work was exhibited in Pushing Clay, Forsyth Barr Contemporary Ceramics Award 2026 in Nelson.
- Artist
- Georgina Caulton
- Title
- The Face is Built for Empathy
- Dimensions
- 180 × 550 × 300 mm
- Clay
- White and terracotta earthenware
- Surface
- Hand-painted matt and gloss glazes mixed with oxide stains
- Firing
- 1020°C
- Construction
- Hand-built pieces
FROM THE EXHIBITION CATALOGUE
Artist statement
I am interested in making the invisible presence of AI visible. We are increasingly relying on AI, with our phones, laptops and devices but the technology itself remains unseen. My ceramic figures strive to give AI a physical form, bringing something abstract and intangible into the human world. Porcelain doll-like faces sit upon machine bodies constructed from terracotta and white clay, impressed with circuit-board patterns. The combination of human and machine references creates figures that appear simultaneously familiar and unfamiliar. Clay is central to this transformation. Its weight, texture and naturally occurring imperfections give these artificial beings a physical presence and a sense of life. In contrast to the polished, weightless technology through which we normally encounter AI, the figures are tangible, vulnerable and grounded. Through these works I invite the viewer to consider what AI might look like if we could actually see it.
View the printed write-up and material details
A closer look at the figures
