A tactile artform, feeding in history and intuitive skill, works in ceramic tread a fine line between precision and spontaneity – a craft built on trust in the process, and freedom found in the unpredictability of the outcome. In making art of the everyday, it’s the poetry of water poured from an intricately wrought jug, or an altar scattered with sculptural rarities that define the worth of the ceramic tradition – molded as objects for which the true value lies in their cultural significance, and the artisanal legacy their creation upholds.

Directed by Andrea Pecora, short documentary Terra E Strexiu takes a spiritual journey to Sardinia's southernmost tip, and into the practice of Elvio and Walter Usai: father and son, and strexiaius– ceramicists skilled in the creation of tableware. From the village of Assemini, their family-run studio extends a long history in craft, traced back to 1850 and the domestic artefacts of Efisio Usai. What began as a small operation reliant on outdoor kilns, and an innate understanding of weather patterns, has become a historic production centre in a constant process of stylistic renewal.

In meditative moments dedicated to the Sardinian landscape – to which Pecora too is drawn by heritage –Terra E Strexiu hovers between earth and physical matter, tracing the connection that binds the strexiaius’ craft to their environment. Hand-formed by human touch, the works of Ceramiche Walter Usai define the indefinable, pieced together in undulating forms – at once, a reflection of the rugged topography that is the foundational source of their clay, and the inspiration behind the designs it is used to shape.