About

Heir Ceramics began with a fascination for objects and how we live with them. What are the subtle ways people leave their mark on things, and things leave their mark on people? How is value assigned? Our culture of consumption fixes on instant satisfaction; disposability is in. In contrast, I am curious about the heirlooms families pass down, the things that carry a story.

Ceramics hold a past interaction, visible on the surface and understood in the hand. The forms are familiar, the material and finish are not. The pieces play with what we expect from the objects we consume, and those new expectations make room for imperfection, intimacy, and connection.

I am Haley Bernier, an artist living in Lisbon. The series started during my master's thesis in product design, when I needed a space to experiment with mould-making and found objects. I found it at Fábrica Moderna in Marvila, where I still work. Every piece is slip-cast in white earthenware, trimmed, cleaned, and glazed by hand, with a raw base sealed in beeswax.

“You couldn't mistake Haley Bernier's pottery for another.” Time Out Lisboa, 2022