7 September 2011
5 April 2011
24 March 2011

Placement
Ceramic Connections: Wales & Scotland

Part 1 from 17th September - 16th October
Part 2 from 22nd October - 20th November

Featuring contemporary ceramic objects by artists with connections to Wales and Scotland, this originaland compelling exhibition explores the narrative possibilities of ceramics through material, form, history,image and context.

From the outset this ambitious collaborative project, devised by Oriel Davies Gallery and Fife Contemporary Art & Craft (FCA&C), focused on producing a combined visual art and craft project. Links between Scotland and Wales were a useful departure point and the strength and diversity of ceramic practice suggested the way forward. An innovative ceramic artist based in each country was invited to bring their expertise and passion to the project. Having never met each other previously, ceramicists, Lowri Davies, (Wales) and Dawn Youll, (Scotland), responded enthusiastically to the invitation and embarked on co-curating the exhibition.

The notion of place and placement conceived collectively by Davies and Youll, highlights important associations in the field of ceramics concerning location, geography, ritual, commemoration and the souvenir. Each artist-curator was drawn immediately to the work of Laura Ford who uses the ceramic ornament as a means to connect with audiences. This language exploring common themes in Ford’s sculptural practice led Davies and Youll to push borders between artistic practices and to research artists who use and reference clay in a multitude of ways.

Works range from Nick Evans’ extraordinary, potent and sculptural totems, marking the idea of ritual and fundamental roots of human existence to the earthy, uprooted terracotta trees by Claire Curneen, hung in stasis and precariously offering the potential for growth through golden roots and branches. Tracing the journey of life is played out and presented through many works, objects which offer stories and connections about our past and present, our environment or even the constructed landscape, assembled and formed in the mind.

This exhibition offers an exciting and alternative perspective to ceramics, inviting both artists and audiences to reconsider and reposition their understanding, engagement and relationship with ceramics.

A full colour publication accompanies this exhibition and includes an interview between Dr Natasha Mayo, artist and lecturer, Cardiff School of Art& Design and the co-curators.

www.fcac.co.uk