Vessels of resilience

The ceramic works extend Michele Cade Khelifi’s exploration of what we carry beneath the surface. Where her canvases hold layered text, these vessels hold presence.

Each form is conceived as a quiet tribute to the women who have shaped her journey; from her mother and mother-in-law to friendships formed across continents. They are not portraits, but essences. Strength, resilience, softness and resolve are translated into volume, curve and texture.

Some pieces stand grounded and assured. Others appear almost fragile, their surfaces marked by touch, pressure and process. What feels delicate has endured transformation. What appears restrained holds intensity within.

Working across clay and alternative sculptural materials, Khelifi approaches each vessel as both object and metaphor. These forms are not decorative alone; they are symbolic containers of memory, energy and story.

Collectively, the ceramic works embody a central tension within her practice; vulnerability as strength, fragility as power, offering sculptural expressions of the layered identities women inhabit: daughter, sister, partner, mother, self.