Digital print on fine bone china with 14ct gold detail
Cup: Height 5.8 cm x Ø 8.6 cm
Saucer: Ø 15.3 cm
Edition of 50
Signed and numbered by the artist
This limited-edition cup and saucer is designed by British artist Rene Matić as part of their solo exhibition upon this rock. The choice to create a bespoke cup and saucer draws on the themes of domesticity that run throughout the exhibition. Matić’s practice also engages with notions of ‘Britishness’, particularly a form of ‘Britishness’ that might attempt to deny or erase their existence.
The cup of tea has become a symbol of British identity and the history of tea in Britain is inextricably linked to empire. Equally, ceramics have a long history as tools of protest in Britain and beyond. Rather than being a neutral vessel, the humble teacup can reflect what our design choices say about our taste, values or politics.
The image chosen for the design depicts graffiti on a shop shutter in Peckham which poses the question ‘Jesus Is’. The phrase speaks to one of the exhibition’s central inquiries – a search for meaning, redemption and salvation and the different ways people find this, whether spiritual or otherwise.
This edition is produced by Duchess Fine Bone China, a company who have manufactured ceramics in England since 1888. The cup is made from fine bone china with 14ct gold detail. It comes signed by the artist and in an edition of 50.
ABOUT RENE MATIĆ
Rene Matić (b. 1997, Peterborough) is an artist, writer and poet based in London. Their work brings together themes of post-blackness, glitch feminism and subcultural theory in a meeting place they describe as rude(ness) – to interrupt and exist in/between. Matić takes their departure point from dance and music movements such as Northern soul, Ska and 2-Tone, using them as sites to queer and re-imagine the intimacies between West Indian and white working-class culture in Britain.
Recent solo exhibitions include in spite of, instead of, Quench Gallery, Margate, UK (2022), flags for countries that don’t exist but bodies that do, Arcadia Missa, London, UK (2021), Born British Die British, VITRINE Gallery, London, UK (2021). Recent group exhibitions include Crowd Control, High Art, Arles, FR (2022); Queerdirect, Sadie Coles HQ, London, UK (2022); Arcadia, Bold Tendencies, London, UK (2021); Bloomberg New Contemporaries, South London Gallery, London, UK (2021) and Friends and Friends of Friends, Schlossmuseum, Linz, AT (2020). Matić’s work is in several prominent collections including Tate, London, UK; Fondation Louis Vuitton, Paris, FR; UK Government Art Collection, London, UK; Martin Parr Foundation, Bristol, UK.
All proceeds directly support the South London Gallery’s programmes.
