Artist Statement
Throughout history death has been a source of terror and fascination and we are always seeking answers to the unanswerable questions of life and death. I am exploring this tension through working with ceramics. I am interested in the objects used in rituals surrounding death and transformation, and why this need for objects is so strong, when spirituality is beyond the object. I create ceramic objects that reflect my wish for a spiritual realm. I mirror rituals through history and comment on our current relationship with death. The vessel is always my main object, for me the vessel symbolises life, from a mothers womb to fathers tomb. The vessel is earth, its mother and carer, creator and keeper, a final resting place or a ship to the other side. It also has a strong connection with ancestors who carried food and water in ceramic pots, and on some occasions and in some locations, buried their dead in them. Through my ceramic works I am finding ways to be at ease with mortality, to understand the need for rituals, but most importantly, to feel a connection with my spirituality.