Maria Donnai is an artist based in Hull. After a career in the veterinary sector, the care and conservation of animals and nature persists through her art practice, which mainly consists of sculpture and installation in ceramic and glass. She intentionally uses these delicate materials to encourage reflection on the fragility of life and ongoing concerns around species extinction.

Donnai begins a body of work through making detailed studies in pencil, using this process to gain intimate knowledge of her natural subjects. For Deep Unknowns this has included researching seaweed, shells and sponges. Her drawings are then translated into roughly palm-sized, three-dimensional objects, using experimental sculpting, glazing and firing processes. A key part of this commission has been developing her skills in moulding and casting with glass paste, known as pâte de verre. Finally, she re-learns the new form of these objects through careful handling and sanding. This physical reconnection imbues a sense of care into the work, creating an emotional bond that extends this safekeeping to nature. 

Seaweed was an early influence and remains the most recognisable form in this body of work. With around 650 species in the UK alone, seaweed has huge potential for counteracting climate change, due to the way the algae rapidly draws carbon dioxide from the atmosphere when it photosynthesises. Donnai’s work invites us to appreciate the beauty of the many forms that seaweed takes on our beaches and in our seas. 

Much of the ocean floor is unexplored by humans, and it is estimated that around 80% of our seas are unknown to us. This has led Donnai to re-imagine and fictionalise our limited understanding, to create a group of hybrid porcelain-glass marine creatures, which speculate on possibilities. Presented as a series of sculptures and a suspended installation, Donnai brings together many small parts to make a whole, commenting on how biodiversity is essential for nature to thrive. The combination of different materials also references symbiosis: long-term relationships between species which have mutual benefits within the ecosystem. Transporting us to the depths of the ocean, Deep Unknowns asks us to care about the preservation of sublime beings that are beyond our comprehension.