I've Got Georgia on  My Mind

Andrew Bryant and Caroline Ainsworth

This exhibition is a collaboration, not only between two artists with a penchant for the ceramic process but also between the living and the dead. Our tribute to Georgia O’Keefe has manifested through the desire to blend the two iconic symbols that we choose to make as part of our own arts practices. The parallel focus between our work and hers lies in the observational intent of the subject matter, with this in mind we have appropriated her format and translated its context accordingly.

Through the versatility of working with ceramics, a two-dimensional configuration can be transformed into a three-dimensional representation. The new work, although referencing a past life then takes on its own existence. To survive in the present, it projects a layered message that hangs onto memory and pushes it forwards so that we may linger a while in the future.  The skulls and shells begin on the wheel and evolve from the traditional utilitarian platter or vessel to become denatured for an alternative purpose. The flowers, seemingly vitrified in full bloom, hold a narrative from the archives of museums, making permanent that which is often fleeting. The Memento Mori speaks to the mortal, ‘remember you must die’, a portrait that reminds us of the shortness and fragility of life.

Our sources reside in the visible world, if you dare to look closely enough you may see something you missed or something you want to remember.