British Ceramics Biennial speaks to 2013 FRESH winner Sarah Worgan
Ahead of the fourth instalment of British Ceramics Biennial weâve spoken to Sarah Worgan, winner of the BCB FRESH award in 2013 about winning, her residency at the European Ceramics Work Centre, and working BIG!
BCB: What were your initial thoughts on winning the FRESH award back in 2013 and being awarded the residency at the European Ceramics Work Centre (EKWC) as part of your prize?
SW: I was quite taken aback when my name was announced as the winner of FRESH 2013. Even though I had received positive feedback from the work being in the FRESH exhibition, the work itself and my ideas behind the work were presented in quite abstract form. So it was gratifying that it was considered to have substantial potential. My initial reaction was of genuine delight and excitement to have the opportunity not only to go to the renowned European Ceramics Work Centre in the Netherlands, but also a confirmed extension of involvement with the British Ceramics Biennial.
BCB: What were you expecting before you arrived at EKWC and how were your first impressions on arrival?
SW: I had only just completed my Masters in Ceramics at Cardiff University, and also moved house just before I left for the Netherlands, so I didnât really get much chance beforehand to anticipate fully what I was about to embark with at the EKWC until I was on the flight on route, when I felt a bundle of tired and nervous energy! But my first impressions when arriving at the EKWC evoked immediate enthusiasm. I was given such a warm welcome from the Centreâs staff, providing tea, an introduction to my very own spacious studio, and a tour of the buildingâŚwhich afforded my first glimpse of the tantalisingly enormous kilns!
BCB: Did you have any idea of what you wanted to do before you arrived at EKWC and how did that change during the residency?
SW: I think in the back of my mind since winning the FRESH award â and previously - I had always been quite keen to make work on a large scale, particularly considering the EKWCâs reputation for being specialists in this area. My BA degree work, which had afforded me the FRESH award, encouraged phenomenological engagement on a human scale, with regards to my aim to create a life-size âsculptural version of an abstract colour painting.â Then, the work for my Masterâs degree, which followed, explored more the capacity of small scale ceramic objects/paintings, drawing a viewer to engage within as well as about. But, considering an emphasis during my recent Masters studies had been on âvaluing the incidental,â (e.g. utilising more immediate and fluid structuring/mark-making rather than relying too heavily on preconceived ideas), I was a bit concerned that making big (e.g. dealing with ceramic gravity) would involve too much pre-planning. However I soon came to appreciate that the incidental could only be valued â particularly on a large scale - if something was actually in position to respond to! An eventual decision to commit to the groundwork of making a big piece ultimately enabled me not only to more fully engage with and make use of the extensive technical expertise of the centreâs staff, but also afforded a structure/position from which to develop further the more fluid and immediate relations with ceramic materials that had satisfyingly surfaced through my Masters work. This kind of making at EKWC â in this new realm of the large scale â turned out to be, paradoxically, both a very focussed and disciplined experience as well as an exhilaratingly liberating one.
BCB: How did you find working at EKWC? How many other artists were there during your stay and how did their work differ?
SW: The working culture at EKWC, I think, can certainly be described as an enriching once in a lifetime experience. In addition to the very helpful and supportive staff members, ten other artists were officially in residency at the same time as me. These were an eclectic mix of people of all ages from the Netherlands, Spain, Belgium, France, Poland, Quebec and Toronto. This diverse group of people with myriad style and approach to their work, including a number of established artists and some with no previous experience with clay, brought extensive wide-ranging focus, interests and discussions to the table â quite literally in that we cooked for one another as a group each evening. These evening mealtimes were also diverse, in that some would afford an opportunity for quiet contemplation and reflection, some, lively chat and debate, and some would encore with vibrant music and dancing; excellent opportunities to share and release, which provided a welcome empathetic balance to the often tense nature of reaching our ceramic deadlines! Indeed being in such an intense situation â time wise â with such a small amount of people, meant that we all got to know each other fairly quickly. I have made valuable friendships from my time at EKWC, offering further stimulatory grounding and perspective, as well as tangible opportunities to continue to âtravelâ. I was also fortunate to meet many other interesting people, such as some of the partners of the other artists, previous artists in residencies revisiting their work, audiences for the presentation evenings, and also people involved with interesting outreach and student projects taking place at the centre.
BCB: Had you ever been to the Netherlands before and did you get to see any of it?
SW: I had been to the Netherlands (The Hague and Amsterdam) about 10 years previously, so I had some idea of what to expect in terms of culture and landscape. Ultimately though, my experience this time felt predominantly dedicated to being at the Centre the majority of the time. Due to the timing of the completion of my Masters I was only able to spend two and half months at the EKWC rather than the initially intended three months. This meant that time was of the essence! Typically, artists at the Centre begin in their studios early in the morning and donât leave until late at night, or sometimes even work through until the early hours. There is a feeling when youâre there of really wanting to make the most of the time and the availability of your dedicated studio space as well as the specialist equipment and advice. However, I did take the opportunity to explore the city of Hertogenbosch (where the Centre was based) as well as the surrounding countryside with some of the other residents. Enjoyment of the landscape soon inspired a routine late afternoon/early evening 1 hour walk, which was good for reflection. Indeed it soon became apparent to me how much my experience and negotiation of my local surroundings â and the enriching myriad perspectives of the other artists in residency, and the centreâs staff â were aesthetically and experientially influencing my work.
BCB: When and why did you decide to go BIG and what were the challenges?
SW: I decided to go big a week before the halfway mark of the residency. I had spent my time before then developing an affinity with the Centreâs clays and glaze materials in researching âbestâ combinations for âform and colour palettesâ; I think always subconsciously with a large-scale form in mind, even though I found it difficult to commit to this idea until this stage. I guess ultimately I was concerned with how I could most effectively utilise my budget, contemplating that if I made big I would also have to consider how to get such a large item back to the UK. Also, during my Masterâs studies, I had enjoyed playing with numerous variables within a colour palette; a key focus being multi-faceted and inter/intra-relational perspective of small objects and forms as part of larger installations. So it was quite daunting to have to commit to fewer colours on one large form, rather than my usual freedom and flexibility of having numerous smaller pieces to negotiate position with. So indeed, the halfway point of the residency proved a bit of a struggle with regards whether or not to make big, but it helped that I held onto a comment from one of my MA tutors, who had said âthe struggle can often yield the valueâ. I also received much encouragement and insight from my fellow artists in residence, the very patient and experienced staff and also visitors to the Centre. For example, a timely meeting with a visiting artist who had been a resident himself previously, allowed for an empathetic discussion regarding our similar approaches to clay as a â3-dimensional material that you can draw and paint with.â Through him sharing his rewarding experience of âmaking bigâ⌠I was soon inspired to climb a ladder of my own â quite literally in the making of the work â to new heights!
BCB: What did you hope to achieve through the residency and what was the final output?Â
SW: A main driver of my BA degree ceramic work â which had afforded me the FRESH award â was a keen consideration of the paradoxes inherent in âmodernâ art and its values; with some emphasis on the âcomplexities of complianceâ with regards clay as an artistic medium. My masters studies/ ceramic work explored these paradoxes further, becoming more involved with the âtextures of experienceâ inherent in this process and leading towards a developing personal philosophy/ creative stimulus, entitled Exploring GreyâŚYielding Colour. This philosophy/stimulus encouraged more positioned, yet also more fluid and immediate, inter/intra relational ways of working with clay, colour, form and space, on a small object scale; something I hoped to continue with at the EKWC, but in a larger, more physically- involving, life-size scale capacity.
The final output of the residency was indeed a large scale piece of work described by others as having a âfirm presenceâ but also could âbe read, encountered and experienced in lots of different ways, via its exterior and interior.â As my script for my âfinal presentationâ at EKWC outlined:
My ceramic work explores relationships between control and un-control, and between painting and sculpture.â¨This residency at EKWC has enabled colourful questioning and negotiating of these âterritoriesâ on a much larger scale; offering diverse perspectives, flexible borders and also integrity in structureâŚopen for consideration.
BCB: How do you think this residency and developing this new work has/will change your practice going forward?
SW: I have learnt a lot from an eventual commitment to making such a large-scale piece of work at the EKWC. One particularly intriguing learning curve came about as the result of two tension cracks â evident after firing â on the bottom sides of the work (as can be seen in the images below.) Whilst on first viewing from the kiln I was dismayed by these from a âceramic technicalâ point of view, I soon â on fixing the cracks â came to experience the work from another perspective, i.e. that the work wasnât predominantly about the cracks. Indeed, some of the other artists commented on how they actually considered them a feature, offering opinion on âhow the work appeared more confident and bold due to the fact that the cracks werenât disguisedâ i.e. that âthe work demonstrated a further strength via its vulnerability, rather like the Japanese tradition of Kintsugi.âÂ
Whilst the work retains certain âformalistâ qualities of my BA and MA degree work, it has also become more of a narrative, i.e. further revealing âtextures of experience,â of its own coming into being; hopefully offering increased invitation of negotiation and perspective.
Considering my practice going forward, I would definitely like to make additional large scale (as well as small scale) inter/intra-relational pieces which convey a continued commitment to âembracing the paradoxââŚexploring and revealing further capacities of clay not anticipated.
All images courtesy Sarah Worgan.Â
The deadline to apply for the 2015 FRESH award is Monday 6th July.  For more information about FRESH and how to apply visit britishceramicsbiennial.com