Alfred Lowe wins the Shelley Simpson Ceramic Prize with Mud Australia

Mud Australia has awarded Alfred Lowe its 2024 Ceramics Prize, recognising the work of an emerging First Nations artist. Combining clay and ceramics to explore organic forms inspired by Australia’s Central Desert, the traditional home of the Arrernte people, Lowe’s work is highly political and visually unique. The pieces encompass a colourful and provocative palette, highlighting Lowe’s voice, identity and call for racial justice.

Clay and ceramics by Alfred Lowe

The Shelley Simpson Ceramic Prize was launched in 2020 to give Mud’s eponymous founder the opportunity to make a positive contribution to Australia’s creative landscape during the pandemic. With bushfires raging in the country, turbulent geopolitics and the ongoing climate emergency, Simpson wanted to pivot her internationally recognised homewares business to help those closest to her.

After caring for her family and team during difficult times, Mud’s Ceramics Prize became a way for Simpson to extend that support to younger artists. Inspired by the Australian Government’s New Enterprise Incentive Scheme, which gave her the opportunity to pursue ceramics in her youth, Simpson’s Prize awards $10,000 in cash and international exposure to emerging artists who have caught her eye. Alfred Lowe is one of those artists.

Originally from Snake Well and Alice Springs in the Central Desert, Lowe began making ceramics in 2021. He now works at APY Studio Adelaide, whose galleries specialise in celebrating Aboriginal art. In his youth he was neighbour of painter Clifford Possum and a regular visitor to the Araluen Arts and Cultural Precinct. He felt strongly drawn to creative practices and Australia’s racial politics, combining his otherwise playful work with an unwavering belief in rebellion and “an unprejudiced attitude of defiance”.

When talking about his pieces, he describes how important their bright colors and playful appearance are to their presence in a room: “A presence that rejects expectations, ignores prejudices, and expresses a provocative sense of rebellion.”

In addition to recognizing Lowe’s work in particular, Simpson believes in the political value of the prize itself, using her platform as a vehicle for change. Last year (2023), an Australian referendum to recognize Aboriginal people in the country’s constitution failed, sparking widespread dismay at prevailing political inequalities across the continent. Determined to do what she could despite this alienation from mainstream politics, Simpson knew that a First Nations artist had to win the prize this year, especially someone with work as politically charged as Lowe’s.

In a culture of resilience, fighting spirit and dignity in the face of terrible odds, both Lowe’s work and that of her champions aim to take small but determined steps forward, and receiving Mud’s recent Ceramics Prize was a valuable vehicle for that process. Sometimes resistance is a battle won only with difficulty, not by the strongest but by those who persevere and keep their feet firmly on the ground. Lowe’s work is no exception.

mudaustralia.com