Playing with Extruded Bricks — Tactile Dialogues

As part of her ongoing exploration into repetition, process, and materiality, Sarah Nedovic presents Playing with Extruded Bricks — a sculptural work that reimagines the plinth not as support, but as form. Constructed from 380 satin-glazed black ceramic bricks and charred solid cypress, the piece rises to 188cm: a quiet monument that’s both grounded and dramatic. A gentle giant watching over the room.

At its centre, scorched timber — crafted in collaboration with furniture designer Nick McDonald (Made by Morgen) — meets hand-shaped clay, marking a point of transition between materials that speaks to the dualities at the heart of Nedovic’s practice: structure and softness, impact and calm. 

Each brick is pressed through a 1980s pugmill and custom die plate, scaled down from standard brick dimensions. Like her Readymade series, this industrial extrusion process, typically associated with mass production, is reimagined here as a tool for artistic sculpting. The work invites viewers to move around it, observing how light interacts with the rhythmic, glazed surfaces, echoing the studio’s explorations in lighting and form.

Created for the Tactile Dialogues exhibition as part of the Melbourne Design Week program, the work reflects the show’s premise: that physical objects can foster new moments of connection — between materials, between disciplines, and between people.