Craftworks Finland Primordial Animal, L, warm grey

Arni Aromaa’s Primordial Animal is a charming little sculpture made of cast and glazed porcelain. The ceramic figure is dipped in the glaze upside down so that it only covers the top, allowing the material’s lovely natural color and texture to show at the bottom.

The Primordial Animals are available in various sizes in three color families: red tones, blue-green tones and natural tones. Warm gray belongs to the latter. In each color family, the sculpture in size L features a stripe pattern on its glazed back that may vary slightly between individual sculptures. The exact positioning of the glaze itself or the creature’s eyes may also vary – each Primordial Animal is unique.

Aromaa has named the creature as a Primordial Animal, but its ambiguous form and patterned glazing also evoke images of whales, wombats or even armadillos. What do you see in the Primordial Animal?