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