Collect Fair, Somerset House

This is a warm invitation to join me at Collect. Presented by Crafts Council, Collect is the leading international art fair for contemporary craft and design taking place annually in the stunning setting of Somerset House, London, UK.    

Proudly positioned at the forefront of the contemporary craft movement for 22 years, Collect presents to collectors, interior designers, art advisors and patrons around 40 exciting galleries from all over the globe. Through the Collect Open initiative, the fair provides a platform for experimental installations by individual artists and collectives. 

Altogether, Collect showcases the work of over 400 exceptional living contemporary craft artists and designers made from a breathtaking range of materials with rich narratives to tell. Work includes ceramic, furniture, glass, jewellery, metalwork, sculpture, textiles, woodwork and more. Over 80% of the work has been made in the past five years with many newly commissioned pieces especially for the fair. 

I will be making a presentation as part of Collect Open having been selected alongside 11 other makers for our ambitious proposals that indicate an intent for a real step-change in our practices. Click here to read a piece in House and Garden on myself and the other selected artists for this year. I have also been honoured to receive the newly created Collect Open Bursary to support this opportunity.

Celadon Soul Jar

I am using Collect Open to develop a more conceptual body of work examining material histories and the palimpsestic nature of objects. 

My presentation will draw on forms such as pagodas, tulipieres and archaeological fragments to explore cultural interpretation and reinterpretation. My work explores the “palimpsestic” nature of objects, the layered identities and overwritten functions they acquire along their existence. Meanings shift, disconnect, or are misread over time and across cultures. I am interested in these gaps, slippages, and mistranslations that accumulate as objects move through their lives.  

I want people to feel free to use the pots I make however they like, folding objects into their lives so they accrue personal narratives. The everyday presence of pottery can deliver small, profound joys, like the difference between drinking from a favourite mug versus a paper cup.