Nature Moves In,
Katie Spragg
September 20- 22, 2019
Nature Moves In presents Katie Spragg’s engaging and mesmerising dialogues with clay in the form of ‘The Glasshouse’ and ‘While Away’ alongside other sculptures. Katie Spragg re-evaluates the traditional ceramic techniques that have passed down generation to generation, combining it with a range of processes that include animation and installation arousing the viewers curiosity. The delicate representation of nature, coupled with her study of movement and sound, make the installation enticing. Her inspirations are drawn from her fascination with elements from nature and reproduced with an ethereal quality.
‘While Away’, 2016, the artist transports the viewer to another world, inviting them to while time. The stop frame animation of supernal porcelain grass intertwined with the sounds of nature, recorded in Hyde Park, enveloping and deepens the colloquy with the artist’s world.
‘The Glasshouse’, like much of her work recalls nature and the often-overlooked elements weeds, wild grass and flowers. Conceptualised and created for British Ceramic Biennial, 2017, the artist spent days studying the Spode site, where once stood a factory, abandoned since 2006 and the artist studied how nature had moved in and taken over. The installation is a parley between plants that are considered weeds and wild nature.
“I am interested in the way that humans and plants co-exist – how we attempt to curate nature yet it proceeds to grow and thrive beyond human ordering. The glasshouse represents a site where this is particularly apparent – a manmade structure cultivated with carefully selected plants that have then grown to fill the space and create their own contained eco-system.”, Katie Spragg, ceramic artist and educator.
Part of the exhibition, Nature Moves In, is a participatory installation that developed from the concept of ‘The Glasshouse’. Visitors are invited to create and ‘grow’ weeds, plants and flowers. The installation will take over a wall of the gallery, mimicking the look of The Glasshouse. The growth of the nature taking over this visitor-led installation will be documented over the three day period of the exhibition. Special workshops are being organised with the artist. More details about the workshops here
Illustrating the artist’s passion and brilliance in the field of ceramics, the exhibition will also be showcasing some of the artist’s drawing alongside other sculptural pieces.
