Relying on the way you have a look at them, the tendrils seemingly rising from Joan Clare Brown’s porcelain bases could possibly be perceived as gentle and delicate or spiny, defensive, and barely unsettling. Dualities lie on the coronary heart of the artist’s strategy to ceramics, particularly in her ongoing collection Ed, which takes private expertise and human anatomy as beginning factors for a poignant examine of grief.
“I started this series as a response to my father’s sudden passing,” Brown tells Colossal. “He was diagnosed with widespread pancreatic cancer and passed away the same day, ultimately of sepsis from complications of a perforated bowel.” Within the Ed works, the cinched base, which mimics a frilly-edged textile cushion or pouch, represents a perforated organ, and the lengthy, rising blades or tendrils emblematize an infection.
The inherent hardness and brittleness of porcelain juxtapose with the softness of textile-like surfaces and natural, plant-like fronds. Every coloration displays particular childhood recollections of Brown’s father, just like the blue and inexperienced hues drawn from his favourite flannel shirt or mild pinks and purples redolent of a tablecloth used at her household dinners.
“Through the permanence of the ceramic form, my hope was to turn something menacing and insidious into a nostalgic and meaningful reminder,” Brown says. “And by making these pieces, in a way, I feel that he is still present.”
Discover extra on the artist’s web site and Instagram.
