Artist Highlight - Sophie Ambelas

1. Your series The Amphora Era returns to the amphora, a form with a long classical history. What made this vessel feel alive for you now, rather than simply historical?

Each amphora is built with square-edged coils. These are stretched and pulled into shape, exposing the inner clay and revealing hidden parts which in many ways simulates how we are as people. We are made of depths that we only ever reveal once we’re pulled a little, and stretched a little. As the coils overlap sometimes they connect well and support the one below and at other times they twist and crack - almost fighting against the next coil. These tensions are deeply human, which is what makes the amphora feel alive to me rather than simply historical.

2. You describe the works as being rooted in Greek heritage, but also reaching towards something futuristic. How do you hold those two directions together in one object?

Greek culture has always been routed in storytelling, in melodrama, and in victory. My coils follow iconic amphora shapes while telling ‘stories’ of breakage and success in a metaphorical sense. They are finished in a non-traditional way with spray paint in bold charismatic colours. The result is an object that honours its origins while looking firmly towards the future.

3. The clay coils in these pieces feel stretched almost to the point of collapse. How important is that sense of risk in your making process?

Risk is fundamental to my practice. Without a healthy degree of risk, we never push ourselves to explore new ideas or discover new possibilities. Often, both in art and in life, it is at the point of near collapse that we find our greatest strength. Clay can withstand remarkable amounts of strain, and I’m fascinated by that capacity to hold tension successfully. The work becomes a reflection of resilience.

4. Your work often balances precision with spontaneity. At what point do you allow the clay to lead, even if it takes the form somewhere unexpected?

When I am layering coils to build a recognisable classical form, the clay will often begin to dip, twist, or create overhangs as gravity pulls it away from my intended shape. That is usually the moment when I allow the material to take the lead. Gravity and strain can create unexpected and exciting possibilities. My role is to recognise those moments, capture them, and guide them into a position where they can contribute meaningfully to the overall work.

5. The amphora is traditionally a container, but your pieces seem to hold memory, movement and transformation rather than liquid or grain. What do you imagine these vessels carrying?

They carry us—our psyche, our inner selves, both individually and collectively. Memory shapes who we are culturally; it informs the values, traditions, and behaviours that become normalised over time. These vessels hold the traces of those journeys: the intricate pathways and the more obvious routes that reveal where we have been and influence where we are going. They are containers for transformation as much as for remembrance.

6. The leather and ceramic works suggest a relationship between the vessel and the body. Did you begin to think of these pieces as something close to clothing, armour or adornment?

I think of them as living objects with distinct personalities, much like the way we choose to present and adorn ourselves. What we choose to place on our body or near it, can communicate a great deal about who we are—whether we are seeking protection, expressing individuality, or negotiating our sense of belonging. These works sit somewhere in between. They are statements: hard and yet soft and playful.

7. The titles Gen Z Amphora and Millennial Amphora bring ancient form into a very contemporary language. What interested you in placing generational identity onto classical vessels?

With every generation we see overlap and resistance—resistance to change, to conformity, and sometimes to belonging to one another. Gen Z Amphora and Millennial Amphora explore these ideas through colour and cultural association. Earlier amphorae in the series were finished in dark base colours contrasted with vibrant colours at the top of each piece, but these two works marked a turning point, embracing modern colours and dynamism.

Colour plays a powerful role in how generations are perceived and marketed to. We are constantly influenced by visual cues that shape our ideas about identity and belonging. Traditional insurance brands typically associated with boomers, for example, often use navy blue to suggest trust and stability, while millennials have become associated with a soft, unisex pink that reflects a generation comfortable with fluidity and inclusivity. Gen Z, by contrast, is represented through a bright, optimistic yellow—a colour that captures their digital fluency, confidence, and energy. By applying these associations to the amphora, I bring an ancient form into dialogue with contemporary ideas of identity and cultural influence.