Action Heroes
Leila Davis
Action Heroes (detail) 2025
Midfire clay, glass beads, silver
Celadon glaze, matte glaze, oxides
Multiple pieces: 28 x 41 x 11 cm overall
About the Artwork
I learned to meditate at Ko-Pan Monastery outside Kathmandu. A lightning bolt of realisation showed me I could choose to cultivate loving-kindness instead of wallowing like a hippo in my own mental mud. The light was there, waiting for me all along. Now I’m aware of the dance in my mind between light and dark forces.
These ceramic sculptures represent the heroes of the story. They are paradoxical, wrathful, fiery forms whose purpose is compassion. Burning up delusion, doubt, and fear, these are the action heroes helping me make my mind a better place. In exploring this theme, I’ve created a pair of wheel-thrown vessels adorned with wings, flames, and celadon glaze. Carving and stamping of each piece uses symbols from the teachings, such as the lotus rising from the mud, cleansing fire, and the green of kindness.
Compassion in action.
About the Artist
Leila Davis is a ceramic artist based in Meanjin/ Brisbane. Her family travelled widely, and she grew up surrounded by massive Islamic paintings, vibrant Persian carpets, African sculptures, and homemade Byzantine batiks. In 1970s Brisbane, this created a rich paradox of merged and mingling cultures, out of which Leila’s distinct aesthetic developed.
Leila studied ceramics at the Brisbane Institute of Art and currently works out of her home studio on the beautiful slopes of Mount Coot-tha. Her enduring passion is the ceramics of the ancient world, particularly the Near and Far East. In 2025, she undertook a residency in Korea with Master Im Kyeong Mun, learning techniques from the 14th-century Joseon dynasty. She recently exhibited in the Sogetsu Ikebana Ceramics Competition (2026) and in Form and Flow (2026) at The Brisbane Gallery.