This exhibition is a form of vocabulary in the medium of ceramics. I have always been fascinated with the possibilities of a ‘language’ of ceramics and am interested in both its expression and its grammar and structure. As with all means of expression, ceramic objects have qualities that speak of a range of allusions and connotations that relate to an understanding of the world as well as the denotation of itself as a medium. There are things you can do in ceramics that are impossible in any other way. The alchemy of the process which transforms the earth and crushed minerals into a durable yet fragile and sometimes beautiful object always captivates and often frustrates.

This work is a manifestation of my interest in developing surfaces and imagery that reflect my mental and physical environment. Wood firing with salt glaze and developing clay bodies that incorporate local materials as well as experimenting with porcelain and brick clay has been a way for me to further develop a vocabulary of my own in the medium. Teaching full time at Scotch College has also meant a natural cycle of working largely in holidays and weekends and has resulted in a diverse and eclectic body of work.

The still life works refer to histories of domesticity and the tradition of still life painting but are also intended as a parody of the preciousness and ubiquity of still life works in the past fifteen years of so in the craft/studio ceramics movement.

This latest manifestation of the ‘Artist’s Table’ is a ‘Vanitas ‘version linked to a number of influences. It is a version of a work that has some components that date back to 1994, and others that have been made in 1999, 2004 and this year. I like the idea that, much like objects in most domestic environments, much stays the same but objects are broken or become obsolete and yet others persist in various groupings as we live our lives. I like the idea of a work that changes and evolves. The skull links the work to the history of the tradition of ‘Vanitas’ still life painting which incorporates a skull, often in juxtaposition with luxury items and a clock or hourglass, in order to make explicit the meaninglessness of materialism in the face of human mortality. It is also an acknowledgement of Ricky Swallow, the Australian representative at the last Venice Biennale. He carved a still life table for the Australian Pavilion and often carves skulls as a comment on similar themes, ten years after the first version of ‘Artist’s Table’ was produced. The valorization of carving over modeling, such as was investigated by the English aesthete Adrian Stokes may well be a relevant case in point. Ceramic’s fragility and utility somehow don’t have the same gravitas as carved wood or stone or bronze and this work makes me wonder why. As some bone fide ceramic objects exist in a sea or trompe l’oeil, the confusion becomes more pronounced in comparison to other representational media.

Other strands in the body of work reference natural forms from the Western Australian landscape, especially that of our indigenous flora and the ancient eroded country. Vessel forms seek to express an Australian quality in terms of decoration and forms and surfaces found in the environment.

Ceramic collage pieces reference the traditions of landscape painting in a craft medium but are constructed of fragments and act as a counterpoint to still life works that operated in the round and allude to another genre of images and illusions.

The various strands in this diverse show operate from two centres imbedded in my practice: that of the inside and the outside and aims to develop a vocabulary and dialogue that links domestic and cultural space to how we live in relation to nature and the environment.

Bernard Kerr