Red Mud Table Set 2019
Studio ThusThat GB
bauxite residue ceramic
Studio ThusThat / Joris Older Rikkert & Kevin Rouff, Met dank aan: Grymsdyke Farm, Yiannis Pontikes en het departement Materiaalkunde van de KU Leuven
Red Mud or bauxite residue is a by-product of the aluminium industry. 150 million tonnes of it is produced every year. The crimson sludge is dumped in reservoirs, some of which are so big that they are visible from space. Studio ThusThat makes ceramics from this Red Mud and uses oxides from the mud for the glaze. The contrast between the fragile and refined ceramics and the gargantuan scale of the metal industry is extreme. Studio ThusThat uses this contrast to challenge our perceptions about industrial waste.