The Witch's Hand Bowl

“The Witch’s Hand Bowl” is a ceramic sculpture by Louise Hapton, blurring the line between vessel and sculpture. A physical manifestation of psychological fragility, the piece is rooted in the artist’s past hallucinations—visions that haunted her before she began taking antipsychotic medication.
 
At the height of these experiences, every meal felt tainted, every dish a potential threat. The most enticing plates exuded the stench of decay, as if infused with the scent of rotting flesh. Through this work, Louise Hapton translates that deeply personal and unsettling perception into form, inviting the viewer to step into her past reality.
 
Ceramics, with its inherent duality of strength and vulnerability, becomes the perfect medium to express this tension. “The Witch’s Hand Bowl” is not just an object; it is an artifact of fear, a fragile bridge between the real and the imagined. By shaping delusion into something tangible, the work exposes the raw edges of perception and the delicate balance between trust and paranoia.
 
Medium: Glazed stoneware ceramic
Size: 25x30x17cm
Made in 2023