Loretta Braganza completed a BA in English and Graphic Design at St Xavier’s College, Mumbai. After moving to York, she studied Sculpture and Ceramics at York College. She has been living and working in York for 20 years.
Her work is grounded in her training in sculpture and consists of abstract forms which she hand builds and then decorates with coloured slips from an austere colour palette.
Forms are loosely based on traditional Indian clay and metal vessel shapes – ‘hundis’ for water, ‘lotas’ for pouring & ‘chattis’ for storage. These forms have always lurked in my imagination and have been an inspirational source for both form and texture.
Group 1 – Forms hint at traditional shapes with taut edges and clean pot profiles. The surface mark making is assured and deliberate invigorating both form and space by deceptively simple surface patterning. Further exploration reveals a web of interlacing lines creating rich and complex visual imagery.
Group 2 – Forms are, essentially, open –mouthed with strong lines and pure colour. They can be fused or interlocked with its complimentary shape. This changes their dynamics and expands the conventional idea of vessels to new, exciting possibilities. The surface of the clay is marked with rapid strokes using small tools and layered with contrasting colour.
“The grouping of objects is important and relates to the choreography of Indian dance.”