Caressa Gonsalves

Caressa Gonsalves is a ceramic artist raised on the Northern Beaches, on the shoreline of Palm Beach. Her works are a mix of contemporary ceramic pieces, from sculptural vessels to vases, embracing natural imperfections and reflecting on handmade craftsmanship. She is inspired by the shoreline and her early years. Caressa’s works explore a contemporary vision that draws from the natural world, surrounding seascapes, found objects and ocean life, symbolic of her upbringing on the coastline of Australia.

“I was raised on Sydney’s Northern Beaches, growing up along the shoreline of Palm Beach. My family were the founders of Gonsalves Boat Shed, a little fisherman’s shack beside the ferry wharf, passed down through generations. Some of my most vivid childhood memories are rooted there, surrounded by the ocean, boats and the textures of the coastline. I have always had a deep connection to the ocean. After losing my parents at an early age, I spent many years avoiding grief and the emotions that came with it. Clay became a way of working through what I had kept stored inside me. I use the vessel as a canvas to explore emotion, memory and the movement of the sea. Working intuitively, I throw and hand-build curved forms, layering found clay slips, textures and moulds taken from the boat shed and coastline. Rope, shells, erosion and wave-like structures become embedded within the work. I embrace the natural imperfections of the clay, allowing the process to remain fluid and unpredictable. What began as a way of finding solace has become an ongoing exploration of memory, grief, place and my enduring connection to the ocean.”