There are two main references in this object. The title refers to the story of Belshazzar’s feast in the book of Daniel in the bible. The king holds a great feast and drinks from vessels used in the Temple. A hand appears and writes on the wall in a language that the king and his wise men cannot understand. Terrified, he sends for Daniel to interpret the message, and Daniel tells him that he has offended God, and the message says that Belshazzar’s days are numbered, he has been judged and found wanting, and his kingdom will be given to others as a punishment. This story has been a great inspiration in art, with painters, musicians and poets all using it as a subject for their art.

The second reference is to still life painting, and to the art genre of still life, which is also something with a rich history in ceramics. Still lifes are compositions made up of many different objects, sometimes natural (fruit, flowers, food) and sometimes made by humans (vessels made from glass, ceramics or silver). Often still life includes dead animals, especially birds, killed and hanging, waiting to be plucked and cut up for cooking. Sometimes still life has a message, which can be religious symbols (flowers that represent the Virgin Mary, for example) or a more general meaning, such as the impermanence of all things, and the danger of vanity, since all things decay no matter how beautiful they are.

Soster says: ‘This work has been generated to explore how clay, food and our excessive natures interplay. I want this work to communicate plenty, a condition of ripeness, what is not exactly alive and what remains from that point onward. I am interested in the threshold of representation that deals with over-abundance, profusion and excessive appetites. Tying together histories of still life, symbolism of meat, i.e. butchery, Dutch still life, display and decadence, our consuming appetites with food excesses, pleasure. Fears and fantasies surrounding food.’