Zoe Preece - Material Presence
Last weekend I went to Llantarnam Grange Arts Centre to the opening of Zoe Preece's exhibition Material Presence. It is brilliant. The quality of making is refined and beautiful, and the work sits in domestic arrangements, encouraging you to look at the ordinary in depth, to allow memories to enter your mind, transporting you to other parts of your life.
Her work has balance and equilibrium, authoritative statements about being human, with the porcelain and walnut honouring the objects as well as the objects being given what some might consider increased value through the materials.
The exhibition guide contains beautifully composed pictures, where the texture of the refined porcelain can almost be felt. Supported with some insightful editorial, I was most struck by a quote from Billie Tilley - "Offering one's full attention to something, to be present with it, can be the first means of honouring it."
This quote, as well as the impact of a limited palette of materials and the precision of the making, will stay with me as I move through my MA.
