The 3D work needs the 2D work to support it and vice versa, there is a harmony between them, creating a theatrical discourse, where a flat image, once cut out and stood up gains personality and depth. The transition from two dimensions to three is something I wanted to explore with the “material of the moment”: Polyfilla. It’s almost a hybrid of clay and plaster to work with, smooth yet sticky and dries hard on your fingers but joyful to work with. The indexical nature of ceramics can be replicated, yet unlike clay, you can smooth Polyfilla onto a wooden board to create a three dimensional texture on a two dimensional plane, pushing the boundaries of when the flat springs up from its canvas.

Yes, ceramics is one of the core materials surrounding us in the domestic realm – we eat off it, we wash our hands in it, we drink our tea from it; but there is a poignancy to using materials that are a biproduct of our lives. These include materials such as newspaper, foil, cardboard, etc; and those that are for the house’s infrastructure: Polyfilla, tape, paint samples; completely every day and completely mundane. I set out to transform the mundane to the marvellous: to celebrate the everyday rituals in a time when we are so aware and at one with them. These totems set out to embody this.

2020