A little more detail on my new project below….as yet untitled.
This year marks the start of a new project exploring our relationship with animals; which is informed by multiple objects in The National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh. It’s been a great source of inspiration on and off over the years, ever since I was an art student in the early 1990s (many of our weekly drawing classes were held there). I’ve always had a lot of interest in museum collections generally; how objects are chosen and grouped and, perhaps, what is left out. Its particularly interesting how by being in this context, objects that were previously unsignificant are given a new status or value. Their new function is to be a part of the museum narrative; snapshots of particular times, places, cultures and contexts.
The vessel forms are an interpretation of a variety of objects – including antique lightbulbs, perfume bottles and glass vials, and have been developed into familiar vessel forms. There is a long history of the vessel as a familiar object that is used to communicate a particular story, topic or reflect every day culture.
I have revisited the museum’s taxidermy collection with a particular focus on the extinct or endangered species (mostly birds). Previous work has also explored these collections and I carried out a lot of research into taxidermy a few years ago. I often go back to subject material and reinterpret it; my creative process is often circular. Taxidermy is of course a complex and controversial subject; and I think its purpose now is to educate about aspects of social history (attitudes to animals in the 1800s compared to now for example). These animals are long gone, but they offer a physical reminder of humans’ need to dominate and manipulate other species. In a way, this work is related to some of my previous pieces in that it is about commemoration, nostalgia and the language of the vessel.
They are all handbuilt in either stoneware or porcelain, and have multiple layers of imagery built up through incised drawing, monoprint, painted slips, glazes, underglaze pencils, lustres and/or waterslide transfers.
