My clay practice is artisanal and I build my vessels mainly using coils. I retain the texture in the body of the work and apply further textures with clay mud, oxides, additional grog, undercoats and glazes. The interplay of matt and glossy surfaces in the work is complemented by the tension between interior and exterior spaces.
The atmosphere of the work I'm after is that of an artifact: suspended between past and present. There is always a play between historical references, maps and languages. These tools are ambiguous interpretations, always changing, eroded.
Over the years, there has been a common vocabulary throughout my work, and it's thematic in nature. I concentrate on specific subjects by creating series, and sometimes return to older themes, with some pieces being completed in the space of a few months. I always start from a real event in the present, such as migration, and from these events, I evoke images linked to them.
As I build, I design the information that will become part of the surface: drawings and writings, engravings and symbols. Not all of the surface will be visible after glazing, but elements of information will always be legible.
I want the public to examine the work and try to discover what references I'm alluding to with each container. I want them to combine and exploit their knowledge, aesthetics and sense of discovery.
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