NARELLE WHITE & CASSY MCARTHUR
ROCKS, SAND & CLAY: HOW THESE ARTISTS CONNECT OBJECTS TO LANDSCAPE.
Emerging Australian artist and maker Narelle White is passionate about the messy, unpredictable nature of working with clay. Based in Melbourne, White works in a collaborative way with her chosen materials, combining clay with other natural substances she finds around her studio.
White’s series of porous vessels form part of Cluster’s digital exhibition and shop. The series is open ended, based on themes that White will continue to explore.
“Here,” she explains, “I bring my interests in precarity, contingency and subjectivity-to-change to an ageless ceramic form: the pot.”
The vessels appear like geological matter sprung to life, with bulbous feet and fecund bodies. Created using an experimental mix of porcelain, organic aggregates and beach sands, the surface of each piece has a distinctively raw and delicate appearance.
RockPools
White allows her works to emerge in their own peculiar way under her guidance, embracing what she refers to as the “poetic possibilities of the vessel”, and only being partially preoccupied with its function as a container. Clay appeals to her as an artist because of its malleability and its ability to reflect a certain humanness in its vulnerability and resilience.
“When conceiving these works, I was reflecting on my MA research into Australia’s mandatory detention of children who seek asylum by sea. Which is to say, I was thinking about borders. At the same time, I was reflecting on material agency as a prompt for rethinking our relationships with non-human ecologies. How might we articulate such coalescing concerns through the filter of material enquiry? My response was a series of porous vessels that query the ways we hold the things that sustain us.”
White collects sand, stones and dirt from the immediate area around her studio and embeds them into her pieces. The conversation between artist, landscape and materials continues throughout the building and firing phases – capturing in the unpredictable result the memories of the process and place that birthed each piece. The process requires courage and faith in the materials’ ability to review their own natures.
“My process is intentional, but my works are emergent,” she explains. “I chose experimental methods because they help me to realise my conceptual ambitions.
“Writers often say that their characters take on a life of their own. I see something of this dynamic in my practice too. The work emerges through collaborative enquiry; give and take. I try to remain receptive and know when to relinquish control, or to be bloody-minded and persist. Both the material and my subconscious have a lot to say.”
Although experiment and open inquiry are central to White’s work, she also spends time researching and noticing the different results of material combinations. Her work is in many ways an ongoing form of research.
YOU CAN BUY NARELLE WHITE’S PIECES THROUGH OUR ONLINE SHOP
Another Cluster artist who explores the potential of clay is Australian artist Cassandra McArthur. Also working with found materials and clay, McArthur comes from a background in fine arts that informs her very visual approach to design.
“Geologically inspired and designed to connect the viewer to the geological landscape and natural world, my pieces are created using hand-collected clay and materials from the environment,” says McArthur.
McArthur began working with clay during her art degree and found herself drawn to its tactility and the technical challenges it presented. For her, the material really came to life when she began to dig it from the ground in her garden herself. This created a link in her process between the material, the landscape and the final products she worked towards creating.
“The characteristics of the materials in the natural environment has a significant impact on how I consider them in the studio,” she explains. “I am very much interested in allowing the materials to speak freely in the finished work, hopefully giving voice to the natural environment.”
Technically, the combination of found materials into clay, as well as combinations of different clays in a single piece, present a particular challenge to the designer. The reactions in the process and in the firing create very particular landscapes on the surface of each piece.
“Each clay has its own character and capabilities. The diversity of how a clay feels and behaves keeps it interesting and challenging. “
Before beginning a piece, McArthur forages for materials and trials handbill forms in her studio. The energetic ebbs and flows of her artistic process keep her mind engaged on varying levels.
“Foraging for particular materials is a calm and contemplative process, whereas other experiences such as collecting clay, processing materials and hand-building forms can be quite physical acts,” she explains.
“Research and experimentation are calculated and methodical, whereas building a piece is intuitive and free-flowing.”
Each step allows McArthur to connect with her source of inspiration and the materials she has chosen. For her, this is an essential part of the making process.
Both White and McArthur keep the natural palette of the materials in their final pieces, allowing the works to continue to reflect the geology and majesty of Australia.
Thank you for reading,
Katie De Klee & Cluster Team.