Gaia

My ceramic sculptures explore a long-standing interest in the notion of balancing structure & order, disorder & disarray, referencing the Japanese aesthetic of wabi-sabi. The current works take the shape of spheres & hemispheres.
We perceive the earth as being divided at the equator. The north & southern hemispheres, or divided at the prime meridian into east & western hemispheres.
My research will inform a personal interpretation of multiple themes, including a holistic view of the earth & it’s hemispheres exploring the concept of ‘Gaia’ - everything on Earth is connected. There is also reference to cellular structure & the human brain. The grey & white matter of the cerebrum, which is divided into the left & right hemispheres by a deep longitudinal fissure.

This body of work was produced for British Ceramics Biennial 2023 ‘Award’ - the headline exhibition in the British Ceramics Biennial, an international contemporary ceramics festival that takes place in Stoke-on-Trent, the home of British ceramics.

The BCB Award artists were selected by a panel of leading professionals who are advocates for contemporary art and making, and who bring a variety of perspectives to the decision-making process. They are: Alun Graves, Senior Curator, Ceramics and Glass 1900 – now at the V&A (chair); Stephen Dixon, BCB 2021 Award winner, Artist and Professor Emeritus, Manchester School of Art; Dr Guan Lee, Founder of Grymsdyke Farm, Architect and Associate Professor; Jenni Lomax, Curator, Writer and Visual Arts and Education Consultant; and Clare Wood, Artistic Director & Chief Executive, British Ceramics Biennial.