2020 Temporal Reliquaries

Temporal Reliquaries combine two durable materials—stone and glazed stoneware—to house fragile or fleeting contents

Collaborating with Doha-based makers and industrial partners, graduate design students and faculty from VCUarts Qatar produced these two-part ceramic and marble artifacts during carefully sequenced workshops in 2020. Temporal Reliquaries, the projects feature enduring materials, but celebrate ephemera. Project responses include a didactic piggy bank, a pair of memorial urns for beloved pets, and a vessel for perfuming the air with scented oil. The collection showcases the range and ingenuity of designers responding to a structured brief and working within a fixed methodology.

Marble components were digitally drawn and specified, then cut by an industrial water jet and polished to order in a local stone factory. Ceramic components were wheel-thrown and then trimmed and carved by hand. The complementary processes—digital and analog—reinforce dualities embedded in the project: permanent/temporary, inert/malleable, robust/fragile. The project marks a year when we were unable to travel for our annual field study workshop, when we took the opportunity, instead, to strengthen local connections. The results celebrate the memorable—if fleeting—experiences that give life character and authenticity.

Completed projects were exhibited in the Palazzo Mora, Venice, during the 2021 Venice Biennale, part of the international exhibition, “Time Space Existence,” hosted by the European Cultural Centre. The exhibit was seen in-person by more than 300,000 visitors.