'Decant' - works in progress FCMG - dissolving

Kath Fries, Decant work in progress, 2013, paper clay, ink and water

My FCMG residency project primarily focuses on ceramics, casting clay replicas of the original objects, which are then dissolved and broken by the pouring of water. There's an element of naivety and playfulness in this childlike scientific investigation into the unseen - unknown - centre, which is finally revealed when the object is spilt open. Even after this destructive examination, a sense of poetic narrative remains within these replicas, it cannot be exorcised or decanted. 

Kath Fries, Decant work in progress, 2013, paper clay, ink and water

Working with ceramics in such an unusual way, I find myself compelled to acknowledge that the ceramics field is a refined, technical and traditional area of expertise, more so than any other art/craft medium. Deciding to unveil the process and reveal the hand of the artist with all its flaws and pushing the limits of the material, goes directly against the expectations and assumptions of what ceramics should be. Retarding the work at the initial stage of formation, even taking it one step further - dissolving the raw objects back to wet clay - belies the standard multi-steped process of refinement; working the clay, forming the object, firing, under glazing, firing, glazing and then firing again. 

Kath Fries, Decant work in progress, 2013, paper clay, ink and water

Increasingly, contemporary artists are pushing the boundaries and expectations of how ceramics can be worked with and exhibited. Isobel Philip recently wrote "… perseverance of the organic is not simply a thematic concern. It is also a technical mannerism. Working with ceramics, [she] rejects certain rules and technical protocols. Surfaces are not smooth and the hand of the artist is not disguised. Her small ceramic figurines, coloured using semi-transparent stains rather than opaque glazes, reveal the craft and gesture of their production. With their visible fingermarks, the sculptures confess the movement of [her] hands." (theartlife.com.au/2014/sordid-grotesque)

Kath Fries, Decant work in progress, 2014, paper clay and water

Kath Fries, Decant work in progress, 2014, paper clay and water

My focus on this cycle of casting, forming, drying then returning the object back to wet clay relates to a broader interest in the passage of time and imminence of loss and death. In this sense clay represents a metaphor for the cycle of life, an inescapable reality for us all. Working with clay is akin to reaching into the earth, it is a primal and ancient medium, humans across continents and cultures have worked with clay for thousands of years. When handling clay it becomes immediately apparent that it is an intimate, sensual material with which you have a time sensitive relationship. My layered stages of forming, drying and dissolving have required an engagement with time that cannot be rushed. Over the months that I've worked on this project, I've developed a new level of patience and have been forced to allow the work to evolve (and dissolve) at its own pace. 

Kath Fries, Decant work in progress, 2014, paper clay and water

Kath Fries, Decant work in progress, 2014, paper clay and water

Kath Fries, Decant work in progress, 2014, paper clay and water

Kath Fries, Decant work in progress, 2014, paper clay and water

This is the fourth in a series of blog posts from my FCMG studio.

I would like to thank Fairfield City Museum and Gallery for this commission and the opportunity of being their first artist-in-residence. The work resulting from my residency will be exhibited in a solo exhibition, 'Decant', in the Stein Gallery at Fairfield City Museum and Gallery (cnr The Horsely Dr and Oxford St, Smithfield NSW 2164), 22 February - 12 April 2014. Opening night: Wednesday 26 February, 6.30-8.30pm

'Decant' - works in progress FCMG - ink stains

Kath Fries, Decant work in progress, 2014, paper clay, ink and mirror panel

My FCMG residency project revolves around two Chinese ewers in the Museum's collection and the nearby site where they were found, Prospect Creek. I created bisected replicas of the ewers in paper clay, which were dipped and splashed with ink, alluding to writing and the unrecorded, unwritten history of these objects. Ink always turns up in my studio materials, stemming from my interest in Chinese landscape painting and its ability to convey space and harmony with the natural world. The Chinese term for 'landscape' is made up of two characters meaning 'mountains and water'. These paintings are imaginary, idealised landscapes, exploring the notion of 'wandering while lying down'. 

Kath Fries, Decant work in progress, 2013, paper clay and ink

I've visited Prospect Creek several times, returning to the the ewer's last known place of origin in a game of trace - a pseudo detective investigation to uncover and absorb a sense of this site. Rainwater runoff naturally drains into the creek, sometimes flooding surrounding areas, so massive storm water drains have been constructed to direct and control the water flow. Sediment and debris is gradually deposited as the flow reaches flatter wider ground and slows down. The sediment forms interesting patterns with intriguing tonal variations that remind me of massive river systems photographed from aerial view points - an interconnecting micro/macro landscape that ebbs and flows. 

Kath Fries, Prospect Creek storm water drain sediment, 2013, photograph

Kath Fries, Prospect Creek storm water drain sediment, 2013, photograph

Kath Fries, Prospect Creek storm water drain sediment, 2013, photograph

The distinctive dispersion, separation and tonal variation that can be achieved when painting with ink, is a quality that quietly speaks volumes in Chinese landscape painting. Although working on clay, rather than paper, I wanted my ink seepages to suggest  landscape - both the sediment patterns in the local creek bed and Chinese pictorial scrolls. I experimented with trickles of water, dripping and splashing ink onto layers of lumpy clay slip and then watched to see how much of the distinctive ink bleeding pattern remained as the clay dried and cracked.  The clay I'm working with contains paper fibres to make it more robust, and these fibres also helped to absorb and hold the ink stains.

Kath Fries, Decant work in progress, 2013, FCMG studio, paper clay and ink

Kath Fries, Decant work in progress, 2013, paper clay and ink

After experimenting with different supports for the clay slip, (plastic, wood and fabric) - I tried a glass mirror panel and managed to gently wash some of the slip and ink away to reveal patches of the mirror beneath and fragmented reflections. The reflective nature of water is often referred to as mirror-like. Both bodies of water and glass mirrors have an almost magical allure and feature in folklore as portals, suggesting that one may be able to move through the looking glass to another parallel world. Another way of embarking on an imaginary journey - 'wandering while lying down'.

Kath Fries, Decant work in progress, 2013, paper clay, ink and mirror panel

Kath Fries, Decant work in progress, 2013, paper clay, ink and mirror panel

Kath Fries, Decant work in progress, 2014, paper clay, ink and mirror panel

Kath Fries, Decant work in progress, 2014, paper clay, ink and mirror panel

This is the third in a series of blog posts from my FCMG studio.

I would like to thank Fairfield City Museum and Gallery for this commission and the opportunity of being their first artist-in-residence. The work resulting from my residency will be exhibited in a solo exhibition, 'Decant', in the Stein Gallery at Fairfield City Museum and Gallery (cnr The Horsely Dr and Oxford St, Smithfield NSW 2164), 22 February - 12 April 2014. Opening night: Wednesday 26 February, 6.30-8.30pm

'Decant' - work in progress FCMG - replicas

Kath Fries, Decant - work in progress, 2013, paper clay and ink, FCM&G studio

My residency project at Fairfield City Museum and Gallery responds to a couple of objects in the Museum's collection that were found on the banks of Prospect Creek. I titled this project Decant reflecting my process of pouring water. Stretching my materials to breaking point, my studio process developed intuitively as I played with ways of exploring time, enacting a tangible engagement with impermanence and fragility. 

Kath Fries, Decant - work in progress, 2013, silicon moulds and paper clay, FCM&G studio

Kath Fries, Decant - work in progress, 2013, paper clay and ink, FCM&G studio

I cast sections of the original objects using silicon moulds, then created multiple replicas in paper clay. However, my fragmented replicas are each intentionally unique, subtly different in texture, colour and form. I decided they would not be glazed or even bisque fired, but instead remain in a semi-transient state - part of an ongoing cycle of formation, drying, breaking, dissolving, disintegration, evaporation, reforming, drying and repeating.

Kath Fries, Decant - work in progress, 2013, paper clay, FCM&G studio

I painted, dripped and splashed my replicas with ink, alluding to traditional writing  with pen and ink, and the unwritten unknown history of the original owner of the ewers. Ink was invented in China and the ewers are assumed to have belonged to one of the many Chinese markets gardeners who worked and lived on the banks of Prospect Creek 1870s-1940s. Very little is known about these agricultural workers - their historical narratives were not recorded and are now lost. The ink (symbolising these lost stories that were not written down) dried into skin-like layers on the clay surface. Washes of water wore off patches of ink skin, eventually tearing open as the flux of the clay beneath splits the surface above.

Kath Fries, Decant - work in progress, 2013, paper clay, ink and mirrors, FCM&G studio

Kath Fries, Decant - work in progress, 2013, paper clay and ink, FCM&G studio

Playing with notions of containment and disintegration, I placed my replicas on their sides filled with water - then waited to see how long the clay would hold. Eventually the water seeped through the weakest point and ruptured the object as the water trickled, then poured, then gushed out. When I was feeling more impatient with this process, I would continuously pour water into a replica, forcing the centre to burst open under increased pressure. Following this aggressive action the fragments and pieces were set aside to dry, semi-preserving the organic rupture lines and a sense of this somewhat unpredictable water pouring event.

Kath Fries, Decant - work in progress, 2013, paper clay, FCM&G studio

Kath Fries, Decant - work in progress, 2013, paper clay and ink, FCM&G studio

The shards and fragments of my replicas began to resemble the results of an archeological dig. I spread them out across tables in my studio in an unstructured process of examining, sorting, reusing and reassembling.

Kath Fries, Decant - work in progress, 2013, paper clay and ink, FCM&G studio

Kath Fries, Decant - work in progress, 2013, paper clay and ink, FCM&G studio

Kath Fries, Decant - shards - work in progress, 2013, paper clay and ink, FCM&G studio

Kath Fries, Decant - shards - work in progress, 2013, paper clay and ink, FCM&G studio

This is the second in a series of blog posts from my temporary FCM&G studio.

I would like to thank Fairfield City Museum and Gallery for this commission and the opportunity of being their first artist-in-residence. The work resulting from my residency will be exhibited in a solo exhibition, 'Decant', in the Stein Gallery at Fairfield City Museum and Gallery (cnr The Horsely Dr and Oxford St, Smithfield NSW 2164), 22 February - 12 April 2014. Opening night: Wednesday 26 February, 6.30-8.30pm

Kath Fries, Decant - work in progress, 2013, FCM&G studio

'Decant' - work in progress at FCMG - site

Kath Fries, Decant - work in progress, 2013, paper clay, 20x18x10cm

Over the past eight months I've been working at Fairfield City Museum and Gallery, as their inaugural artist in residence. My residency will conclude with a solo exhibition, Decant, in the FCM&G Stein Gallery in February.

Kath Fries, Decant - work in progress, 2013, paper clay, 18x16x10cm each

My residency project responds to a couple of objects in the Museum's collection, found on the banks of nearby Prospect Creek, exploring how the passage of time and containment of memories can be poetically reflected in the residue and trace of pouring water.

The Chinese ewers in the FCM&G collection display

Most of the objects in the Museum were personally donated by members of the local community, but these two ceramic ewers were simply "found on the banks of Prospect Creek" in 1985 amongst other ceramic shards. It's thought that they belonged to one of the many Chinese market gardeners who farmed on the banks of Prospect Creek 1870-1940s. Although it is known that there were "many" Chinese market gardeners working in this area around that time, there isn't much information about these individuals, except that most moved to the Fairfield / Smithfield area following the decline of the gold rush in the late 1800s. Most would have tried panning for gold at Hill End before moving here -  a coincidental link to my recent Hill End project in September.

The Chinese ewers display label in the FCM&G collection

The ewers seem to be the only objects in the FCM&G collection that once belonged to the Chinese market gardeners in Fairfield / Smithfield. There's very little personal history recorded about these agricultural workers, except that they were generally employed on other peoples land and kept to themselves avoiding the authorities, due to racial prejudices at the time and the White Australia Immigration Policy. However today, the Fairfield City local government area boasts the largest multi-cultural population in all of Australia. 

Location of FCM&G and proximity to Prospect Creek

The ewers are nice to hold and fit comfortably in the palm of one's hand. They are both a little bit chipped at the top – it’s surprising that they survived so long. I think these objects would have been well used before being swept away when the creek flooded nearby houses (apparently the creek overflows fairly often). Then they were probably washed down stream, then trapped in the weeds and rocks of the creek bed for some time, before being becoming caught up in a subsequent flood, eventually coming to rest further along, higher up on the creek bank.

The Chinese ewers in the FCM&G collection

The ewers were made by hand on a potter's wheel in China, so early in their story there was a long water journey across the ocean in a ship. The touch and 'hand' of their maker is apparent in their ringed, slightly uneven surface and roughly glazed dark brown surfaces. Everyday utilitarian objects - with a distinct sense of personality. When I first saw them, I immediately knew I wanted to work with them. Then looking through the Museum's records and failing to discover much more information, I felt that these vessels  contained an intriguing mysterious historical narrative. The ewers invite open ended speculation, allowing us to project our imaginative narratives into them - and because there's nothing officially recorded - these speculations cannot be proved incorrect... but disappointingly we will probably never really know any precise details about the owner of these objects. 

"Even when we don't actually know the stories, we frequently think of objects as repositories of narration. And we are likely to account for our 'things' by telling stories about them. Stories form contexts within which craft objects resonate with meaning." 

(Sue Rowley, There Once Lived… craft and narrative traditions, Craft and Contemporary Theory, 1997, p81)

Kath Fries, Prospect Creek, 2013, photograph

Prospect Creek flows near the Museum, I've visited it a few times and strolled along the walking track, revisiting the last known origin of these objects and their testament to lives lived and times past. Like most suburban waterways, Prospect Creek still catches quite a lot of rubbish and debris, however Council's efforts at rehabilitating the area has encouraged flora and fauna to thrive, giving the creek a certain charm. The flowing water conveys a quality of tranquility and calmness. The creek is constantly changing - yet it also seems ageless, as flow and floods remain relatively unaffected by the buzz of human activity and progress that surrounds it. I'm reminded of an ancient metaphor of water as time and expression of impermanence, "You can never step in the same river twice." (Heraclitus, circa 535 - 475 BCE). 

Kath Fries, Prospect Creek, 2013, photograph

This is the first in a series of blog posts from my FCM&G studio.

 I would like to thank Fairfield City Museum and Gallery for this commission and the opportunity of being their first artist-in-residence. The work resulting from my residency will be exhibited in a solo exhibition, 'Decant', in the Stein Gallery at Fairfield City Museum and Gallery (cnr The Horsely Dr and Oxford St, Smithfield NSW 2164), 22 February - 12 April 2014. Opening night: Wednesday 26 February, 6.30-8.30pm