SAND 1- 6

The SAND vases are a response to the global sand crisis. For each of her glazes, Perry sources ingredients from industrial waste instead of using mined, raw materials which are rapidly depleting. Inspired by the research of Sara Howard, Perry gathered waste slurries from the glass and stone industries and processed them into glaze powders.

If this technique of glaze making was adopted globally, this act would not only prevent mining of raw materials but would give a purpose to waste that would otherwise be sent to landfill.

On her site specific commission for the Unilever Four Acres site, Ellie Perry states:

“My work really aligns with Unilever’s values of sustainability and specifically to those of Knorr. I have chosen to highlight some of Knorr’s sustainability facts on the vases to use them as a talking point to promote Knorr’s ongoing projects to improve the sustainability of the brand and how their ingredients are grown.

Both myself and Knorr have a passion about local materials, in my practice that is from the local waste materials that I collect and in Knorr that is the local farming that they carry out. I also think that there is something quite poetic about the fact that Knorr is used in homes all around the world every day, with people following recipes to cook their meals. Just like in cooking, to create my glazes I create a recipe which I follow to get the right balance of waste ingredients that create my glazes.

A big part of Knorr’s values is their optimism, they acknowledge how far they have come but also the room there still is for improvement to make the world a more sustainable place, and I think that this is hugely important. I believe that ceramics have a long way to go to become more sustainable but, by making small changes like in my glazes, I am making gradual changes to make my practice more conscious and optimistic.”

Facts stated on each vase in order from left to right:

1. By 2025 50% of Knorr’s turnover will be plant based.
2. 95% of vegetables and herbs are sustainably grown.
3. 27,000 farmers employed in Knorr’s programme.
4. 25% of cereals are sustainably grown.
5. 58 billion fortified servings to date and on track to double this number by 2025 in line with the Future Foods Commitment.
6. 100+ water saving projects have been co-funded