Autobiographical Delirium
Diane Quick
Autobiographical Delirium (detail) 2025
Hand-built slip cast stoneware
Underglazes, wallaby blood glaze
Multiple pieces: 42 x 21 x 11 cm overall
About the Artwork
This self-portrait vessel, Autobiographical Delirium, explores the human form through the lens of environmental obsession and natural decay. To replicate the tactile sensation of painting on canvas, I incise the surface of the raw greenware before layering slips and underglazes. This physical carving became an addictive, consuming process, immersing myself in the intuitive, meditative rhythms of the sgraffito patterns.
The resulting figurative shape serves as a human vessel designed to let dying flowers nostalgically bloom, with the wilting flora acting as the figure’s head. While the commercial flower industry is a booming business, fuelled by a social media-driven desire for short-lived perfection, my goal is to actively enjoy the decay. By holding space for withered blooms, this quiet functional statue challenges our modern aversion to ageing, celebrating the overlooked magic found in the natural life cycle’s inevitable decline.
About the Artist
A former graphic designer with a publishing career in Sydney and Fine Art training in Adelaide, Diane Quick transitioned to working full-time with clay three years ago. She creates sculptural and functional pieces that merge autobiographical themes with natural history, deeply inspired by her volunteer work at the Australian Museum.
Her slab, coil, and wheel-thrown techniques are informed by her background in design and printmaking. She employs an intuitive approach to drawing, using sgraffito and underglazes to develop richly patterned, highly detailed surfaces. Diane has been a finalist and won several awards over the years for her graphic designs and ceramics. In 2025 alone, she won the Little Things Art Prize; received Highly Commended for the Halloran Art Prize; and was a finalist in the Sydney Ceramics Market, Urunga Sculpture, Pro Hart Outback, Eckersley’s, and Lethbridge Landscape Prizes. She is currently a finalist in the 3D category of the De Reitz Art Awards 2026.