As a ceramicist, my work is the way in which I understand my world and my idea of self. "Gestures of the Past" focuses on memory and experience, using the body's movements to track and record a moment. Each piece seeks to capture the essence of a pivotal memory. As I look back into my past, I search for a memory which shaped my understanding of myself. When I find them, I begin the act of reflection. By recreating the physical movements of this memory, I am able to further reflect on the significance of it and from there the forms grow. The opening of arms in search of comfort, the repetitive motions that represent peace, each movement is moulded into the clay to form a physical adaptation of a fleeting memory. Each piece becomes a vessel in which I can store and revisit this memory. The material of clay itself is fundamental to the project. The way in which clay holds memory, often warping when not treated with care and marks of its making which do not surface until its firing, mirrors the way in which memories can fragment and change as they resurface throughout our lives. Its malleability aligns with the understanding of memory we have today, something which shifts and changes as we move through life, while it's physicality allows me to break down the barrier between body and art by directly translating movements into form. It is important to me as an artist that my work can be used. In previous projects I have considered how art could be worn or created by the viewer. The physical use that was important within previous work changes into a more internal function. With this project, the viewer can remember. The work is an act of reflection, on the body, the mind and what we consider milestones in our lives. It is an exploration of our past, a documentation of our growth and a map of a lifetime of memories.
