Becoming Matter is a exhibition driven by Material Assembly (MatA), a collective of artist-researchers based at RMIT University whose studio-led enquiries explore the interrelationships between making and meaning through material experimentation. MatA cultivates a critical, sensory and speculative space for research, dialogue and collaboration across an expanded field of contemporary art and craft practice.

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Robyn Phelan  River Bodies - elemental encounters between clay, fire, air and water, 2026
Hand formed terracotta clay, terra sigillata, blackware firing, hand carved Wandoo dowel, post-firing ash wall drawing, digital video, sound

Working with the exhibition directive of Becoming Matter, I have assembled material in the form of ceramic, wood, ash, sound, and moving image to conceptualise and embody my experience of summer bushfires and swimming in nature.

Evolving from my doctoral studies, River Bodies - elemental encounters between clay, fire, air and water exemplifies research into ancient surface treatments, slow burn and once-firing methods, pursuing an approach and return to ceramic practice that is both carbon responsible in its firing and carbon explicit in its material outcome.