A State of Being – Cré Collective Group Exhibition

QSS is delighted to host A State of Being in Gallery 2, a group exhibition by the Cré Collective, from 2nd – 23rd May 2024.

Opening event: Thursday 9th May, 6-8:30pm. No booking required, please see the ‘visitor information’ section of our website for further details on visiting the gallery https://www.queenstreetstudios.net/visitor-information/

General opening hours: Monday – Thursday, 10am-5pm.

A State of Being

A collective exhibition investigating the therapeutic value of engaging in art and design practice. This year’s graduating class from the HND Product Design (Ceramics Pathway) has formed the Cré Collective to keep them moving forward as a group through various joint projects and regular exhibitions. Their third exhibition as a collective, A State of Being presents a range of individual outcomes and includes Vessel, a collaborative work to which the whole group has contributed. The common denominator for this group piece is the colour palette, the individual artists within the group embodying a diverse range of technical approaches, both sculptural and functional. @crecollectiveni

Alec Chambers
@alecs.ceramics

Alter is a collection of thrown vessels exploring body modification as an art form, and its impact on personal well-being. Body modification is integral to Alec’s own identity. Within these pieces, he combines his personal experiences with research into the significance of such practices in many cultures worldwide, to honour the history of these customs. The vessels are thrown from 3 distinct clays and vary in colour and form. By altering each vessel with tattoos, piercings and scarification, Alec investigates the potential of procedures like this for healing and self-expression across the globe.

Riley Kennedy
@rileykennedypd

Focusing on the impact that interior design has on improving mental health, Riley has designed a range of contemporary vases that bring art into the home. Having a background in product design with a focus on gendered design gives each of these pieces a personality of their own. Inspiration taken from organic patterns and forms appears throughout their work, incorporated into the overall shape of pieces and through decoration. The surface finishes arise out of the colours and patterns that occur within nacreous cloud formations. Riley combines elements of sculptural design and functional ware to create these vessels, using both hand-built and thrown components to bring these designs to life.

Sandra Kerr Gordon
@sandra_kerr_gordon_art

In her artistic journey, Sandra has discovered the transformative power of clay as a medium for therapeutic expression. Finding solace and healing, as well as a means of communicating emotions that words cannot convey, clay has helped her to reflect on a journey of self-discovery and well-being. In the gentle rhythm of stitching, she finds relaxation and with each repetition of the needle weaving through the clay, a sense of calm descends. ‘Patched’ is a series of works relating to the aftermath of mental health illness. Sandra concentrates on patching fragile fragments of porcelain with needle and thread as a metaphor for recovery in a literal artistic representation of stitching life back together.

Denise McAuley
@moneyvartceramics

Denise infuses her nursing expertise into the exhibition, drawing on her experiences in patient care, therapeutic interventions, and health promotion. Her stoneware bottles represent art and design practices and representations of prescription medications. To challenge the conventional notion that medication is the primary solution to health issues and representing the individual as a vessel, Denise invites viewers to reflect and consider how the role of creative expression enhances their own overall wellness. This juxtaposition reinforces the exhibition’s theme, embracing holistic approaches to well-being and highlights how art and design fosters self-discovery, emotional resilience, stress reduction, and a sense of personal empowerment.

Danielle Morgan
@dm08art

Danielle’s ceramic vulva pods embody a profound journey back to the womb, informed by the fact that trauma often finds its roots there. Through research and reflection, she meticulously hand-crafts these pods as vessels of healing and renewal, inviting participants to recline within for ten minutes; a sacred space to disconnect from the chaos of modern life and reconnect with the primal source of existence. Through immersion in the pods, individuals undergo a symbolic rebirth, emerging revitalized and empowered. It stands as a tribute to the enduring resilience of the human spirit and a reminder of the transformative power of introspection and self-care.

Joanna Mules
@joannamules

Joanna relishes the experience of different processes, methods, materials, and scale. Here she explores the refined and demanding porcelain, which has greater potential for detail and smoothness of surface for ceramic decals. At the forefront of Joanna’s thematic response are the questions: What makes us feel safe and protected? What comforts us? Her answers, suspended in porcelain and fabric, are giant amulets and talismans, their scale recalling us to when, as small beings, we felt loved and secure, reassured by the warmth of pet animals and hot-water-bottles.

Everything’s going to be all right…

Annemarie Mullan
@hand2maden

Figurative ceramic sculpture presents Annemarie with the perfect means to throw a spotlight on trauma and phobia, revealing the darker thought behind the convivial face. Sited in the twilight world of masquerade, circus, pantomime, theatre and fashion, her work is informed by a background in puppet animation, poetry performance and a childhood spent buried deep in books of fantasy tales from faraway lands. To excavate the archetypes of an emotional landscape, she draws upon the symbolism of text, costume, creature, and surface decoration to laud the esoteric aspect of the female persona – a personal odyssey.

Corinne Price
@corinneprice_ceramics

Corinne has created a range of sculptural vessels inspired by the physiological effects of colour on personal wellbeing. Employing rhythm, pattern, and repetition, Corinne works with colour in a tactile manner by integrating pigmented porcelain into the body of the work. Her method enables her to connect with colour more directly than applying it to a finished vessel would permit. Though risky and time-consuming, Corinne finds the process enables her to think in colour and steer her thoughts towards the positive associations embodied in the finished work.

Margaret Woods Moore
@margaretwoodsmo

That’s Not My Bag is a series of decorated, clay ‘paper’ bags, illustrating potential human pitfalls, each telling a different story and becoming the baggage we carry for the rest of our lives. In Margaret’s work the bag is a symbolic vessel, its surfaces reflecting dilemmas faced by the carrier, inspired by Hogarth’s Rake’s Progress and Harlot’s Progress and interpretations of these by artists such as Grayson Perry. Margaret draws on her printmaking, drawing, painting, and ceramic experience to develop and illustrate her slab-built forms. These practices have been successful methods for her to personally channel stress into positive, rather than destructive outcomes.