Many ancient creation stories tell of humans first formed from clay, kneaded and molded and in some fashion animated—sculpted into being. A recent study, in fact, suggests that clay minerals may have actually helped catalyze early life on Earth. So it’s fitting that the all-important medium finally gets its due in a new exhibition at London’s Hayward Gallery. Surfing the wave of the public’s increased interest in ceramics, the show brings together the work of 23 international artists, including Betty Woodman, Beate Kuhn, Ron Nagle, Ken Price, and a range of new talents. The U.K.’s first large-scale group exhibition of its kind, it brims with the uncanny, objects such as a giant ceramic squid, make-believe creatures, and anthropomorphized household goods. Curated by Dr. Cliff Lauson, all this strange clay touches on a range of issues, from domesticity to social justice, exploring exactly what clay is able to capture and represent. Hayward’s answer is: everything. —Grazie Sophia Christie