Stoned & Plastered
Giulia Shah








 A short walk from Supporting Material, in a large, shed-like structure, stood Stoned & Plastered, a decorative shop and casting and mould-making workshop selling a wide range of stone and plaster ornaments, from architectural casts to decorative objects. This summer, it closed its doors after 40 years of trading.

In the months leading up to its closure, artist Giulia Shah documented the disordered jumble of symbols, motifs and relics before the collection was dispersed. The uncategorised moulds had arrived through different routes: handcrafted at the workshop, acquired from other craftspeople, or donated and purchased from the plaster rooms of some of London’s most prestigious institutions.

At its most straightforward, photographing the space was a way of holding on to something that has since disappeared. But Giulia was conscious that what could be retained through photographs was not necessarily what was most valuable about the workshop.

Giulia’s approach was also guided by her interest in casting as a method of reproduction, and its relationship to photography. Both processes reproduce something that already exists, but through different means.



 


Self-published by Giulia Shah, 2026
With Supporting Material
100 copies
Softcover, staple binding
48 pages

Height 210mm Width 150mm Depth 3mm