Collect Open 2022 - the Lifespan Project
The average lifespan of a woman in the UK is 82.9 (at the time of the start of this project)
The body of work created for Collect Open arose from considering female upbringing over these years, what has changed or what has stayed the same, for we are what our upbringing makes us. A figure to represent each passing year.
The project has inevitably a personal aspect - my mother recently attained this age. Reading her illustrated memoir, and considering the changes that have happened since she was a child has been the starting point for many areas of research.
The installation centres around some recurring themes; aspects of upbringing that continue to echo despite differences in time or social situation.
The installation is seen below in the South Wing of a Somerset House, above on location at Bayham Abbey dower house
The average lifespan of a woman in the UK is 82.9 (at the time of the start of this project)
The body of work created for Collect Open arose from considering female upbringing over these years, what has changed or what has stayed the same, for we are what our upbringing makes us. A figure to represent each passing year.
The project has inevitably a personal aspect - my mother recently attained this age. Reading her illustrated memoir, and considering the changes that have happened since she was a child has been the starting point for many areas of research.
The installation centres around some recurring themes; aspects of upbringing that continue to echo despite differences in time or social situation.
The installation is seen below in the South Wing of a Somerset House, above on location at Bayham Abbey dower house
The project looked at the following recurring themes
Seen and Not Heard
Armed For the Future
Early life gives ammunition, from the skills we learn and attitudes we acquire |
Misdemeanours
The break away from conformity, the first step to finding our own voice |
You are what you wear
starting with dressing up, putting on clothes for what we are or how we think we should be seen, or remembering how clothes made us feel |
Displacement
Out of place, physically, socially, or emotionally, perhaps without choice |
The face of protest
change remains a work in progress. we still march |
When I grow up
hurry through the childhood years with one eye on the future, testing out a picture of our adult lives |
Materials and Process
The figures are built using (usually) a mix of porcelain paperclay and white grogged stoneware.
Over this are layers of oxide and glaze before the top ‘skin’ of porcelain mix. The difference in shrinkage, and using the different layers at critically different times in the drying and firing cycle, results in a cracked and disrupted surface. The disrupted surface is descriptive
Clothes are made to fit and treated with slip
Faces are cast from a large collection of doll faces, vintage and modern. The use of the face as mask describes the face we present to the world.
other materials, and fired dressmakers pins, contribute to the message of the figures
It is a long and intricate process to get the subtle effects I strive for to help carry the message of the piece, giving an air of vulnerability, uneasiness, and display using the properties of the different materials and use of the firing process
The figures are built using (usually) a mix of porcelain paperclay and white grogged stoneware.
Over this are layers of oxide and glaze before the top ‘skin’ of porcelain mix. The difference in shrinkage, and using the different layers at critically different times in the drying and firing cycle, results in a cracked and disrupted surface. The disrupted surface is descriptive
Clothes are made to fit and treated with slip
Faces are cast from a large collection of doll faces, vintage and modern. The use of the face as mask describes the face we present to the world.
other materials, and fired dressmakers pins, contribute to the message of the figures
It is a long and intricate process to get the subtle effects I strive for to help carry the message of the piece, giving an air of vulnerability, uneasiness, and display using the properties of the different materials and use of the firing process
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Contact
Email jgowlandceramics@gmail.com Main website www.jgowland.com Instagram @jemma.gowland Call 07914 986486 |