Dark Tales
Published by Llantarnam Grange Arts Centre. Text ©The Authors and LGAC 2014 Llantarnam Grange Arts Centre St.David’s Road Cwmbran Torfaen NP441PD T: +44(0)1633 483321 E: info@lgac.org.uk W: www.lgac.org.uk Touring enquiries welcome Front Cover: Kate Gilliland
Dark Tales Curated by Sarah James and Louise Jones-Williams
Julie Arkell, Amanda and Matt Caines, Jennifer Collier, Kate Gilliland, Virginia Head, Catrin Howell, Anna Collette Hunt, Anya Keeley, Anna Lewis, Emma Molony, Grainne Morton, Cleo Mussi, Sophie Woodrow.
A Llantarnam Grange Arts Centre Touring Exhibition
Anna Lewis
Fairy tales and folklore have fascinated
start to soften and sweeten these tales.
people for thousands of years. These
Yet often the dark heart of these stories
enthralling stories and the images they
remains. Fairy tales have never had a fixed
conjure up, have through the years
form, and regardless of their influence, the
captivated everyone from children to artists,
tellers constantly altered them for their
film makers and fashion houses.
own purposes. Despite being primarily a European tradition, their themes of journeys,
If you are looking for a sweet, soothing
being lost, disguise and transformation
tale before bed then the stories collected
are common to folk tales from all over
by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm in the early
the world. Many of these stories have a
1800s are not what you’re looking for.
‘fairy-tale ending’, however the most
The two brothers were determined to
enduring and ultimately most interesting
preserve Germanic folktales, and the tales
are those which aim to scare. The darker
they recorded are capricious and often
and more frightening aspects appeal to
cruel. Only when they saw how the tales
our memories of childhood anxiety and
bewitched young readers, did the Grimms,
wonder.
and many writers and editors after them,
Julie Arkell
In the spirit of celebrated illustrator Arthur
and materials into work which will evokes
Rackham’s interpretation of the fairytales,
questions, illuminates curiosity and conjures
Dark Tales takes us on a sensuous journey.
fantastical tales.
Dark Tales was conceived by responding to the many exceptional makers that are
Julie Arkell is one of the country’s best
influenced by story-telling, asking them
recognised contemporary folk artists. She
to respond by delving deeper into the
forms and paints paper-mache bodies,
darker corners of their imagination and a
hand sewing and embroidering clothes
wonderful collection of work has emerged. A
and knitting the accessories. Her deeply
common thread amongst the collection are
personal, paper sculptures are layered,
the enduring use of found objects as a way
stitched and painted and often incorporate
of transforming items with an embedded
found objects to create quietly complex
history into pieces that are able to trigger
narratives. For Dark Tales Julie has examined
memories and emotion. Transformation is a
the perennially mysterious crow: “It all
common theme is fairy stories, stepmothers
began with the crows. I became fascinated
turn into witches, people into animals,
with them about a year ago. I like their dark
these artists transform everyday objects
blackness, the shape of them and their
Amanda and Matt Caines
rather sinister, clever and curious natures.
Amanda’s stitchwork techniques and Matt’s
This led me on to appreciating the colour
interest in the art of maritime scrimshaw and
black. I hardly had any black fabric in the
engraving on shed antler to create a body
studio (or wore it myself) so needed to
of free standing sculptures and hanging
dye an assortment of material to dress
pieces inspired by the anthropomorphic
the crow creatures. I marvelled at all the
nature of fairy tales and folklore. Man’s
different blacks that emerged – ink black,
identification with animals and the taking
brown black, dusty black, sooty black, grey
on of an animal’s properties dates back
black… the list could go on. Black can
from prehistory to contemporary film and
send a shiver down my spine. From an old
literature and underpins many fairy stories
crumpled black frock, black handwriting to
and folklore themes. Modern life has put
Susan Hills ‘a woman in black’…. Black can
distance between us and this powerful and
have dark tales to tell.”
primal imagery and yet we still feel the basic attraction in animal identification. Our new
Amanda and Matt Caines are both successful artists in their own right but often collaborate. “Our latest work is a collaboration of
work explores this dilemma and conflict.”
Jennifer Collier
Eternally inventive artist Jennifer Collier,
and stitch the glimpses of the text give us a
has been investigating the possibilities of
glimpse of the story.
sculpting with paper for many years. Jennifer’s practice focuses on creating work from paper;
Imaginary tales from the past encapsulated
by bonding, waxing, trapping and stitching
in found and treasured objects spark Kate
and she produces unusual paper ‘fabrics’.
Gilliland’s imagination. Old collections,
The original concept for her work came from
cabinets crammed with an eclectic mix
the novel ‘Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit’
of the weird and the wonderful inspire a
by Jeanette Winterson, and whenever she
great deal of her work. “I try to set my own
needs inspiration she returns to literature or
stories in my pieces and stir the fantastic
poetry. The papers themselves serve as both
to life. Protective cases preserve and record
the inspiration and the media for her work,
found treasures, small dead creatures,
with the narrative of the books and papers
skulls, teeth, bone, act as small reliquaries,
suggesting the forms. For this exhibition
bringing
Jennifer has taken stories of folklore and fairy
illuminating, evoking and asking questions.”
tales, reusing and transforming them into
Kate’s jewellery preserve a little piece
dresses, shoes and gloves with embroidery
of the past for the future, each delicate
atmospheric
stories
to
life,
Kate Gilliland
handcrafted piece sparks your imagination
dimensions of shape-shifters and hybrid
with fantastical tales. A wondrous piece of
animals, courting the dangers of riding bare-
wearable natural history, immortalised in
back and rough-shod alongside the devil
precious metal. Â The treasured animals that
himself. “Fairy tales have become stripped
inspire her jewellery are all found already
of their darker, more menacing message by
dead, by Kate or friends. She encourages
those who deem them too sinister, blood-
you to see the tiny detail and beauty in
thirsty or frightening for little children.
these beautiful little animals. From foraging
Themes such as abandonment, amputation,
in the British woodland to finding these
torture and murder were common in the
beautiful fragments of nature in the urban
original tales and served as a warning
landscape, every animal has their own story
against straying far from the path: the path
which could be a remnant from a fairy tale.
Mother would prefer her child to take. However, children are curious, adventurous
Virginia Head’s drawings access the wild
and wilful. They seek excitement and yearn
and uncharted depths of the psyche,
to explore the world outside. And so it is
teasing out imagined worlds of demons,
that the child learns about danger, threat,
imps and wayward travellers. We enter other
wrong-doing and its terrible consequences.
Catrin Howell
The moral code of the fairy tale teaches
Animals and the roles they play in mythology
the child patience, endurance, tenacity,
are a constant theme in Catrin Howell’s
perseverance, and courage. She learns about
work. The internationally acclaimed ceramic
true love and the strange guises it may
artist is interested in the universality
appear in. Through metaphor and parable
of myth, narrative and symbolism.
she learns how to recognise opportunities
writes: “I am fascinated by animals and the
to help others less fortunate, to give freely
way they are used to convey narratives.
of her time and skills, to work hard, to serve
From the roles they play in mythology, as
and wait on those who deride or scorn her.
iconic symbols and their ability to trigger
She learns that beauty comes inside - from
memories and emotion...” “I am drawn to
purity of intention, inner strength, versatility
myth because it allows the impossible
and determination. Against all odds good
to happen; challenging perceptions, by
wins out over evil, and the many ‘deaths’ she
playing with assumptions of the real and the
faces are but initiations. Such is the power
supposed.” The Mabinogion continues to
of the fairy tale to educate and enlighten
inspire and this historic narrative combined
that it is easy to understand why adults still
with contemporary stories and folktales
hunger after them, in all their gory detail. “
feed into Howell’s work. A recent collection
She
Anna Collette Hunt
was inspired by Medieval Bestiaries and
natural history collections and specimens.
tapestries. Recurring themes such as
After studying entomology collections she
metamorphosis and transformation, and
was inspired to write a fairy tale in which
the painting of ‘The Vision of St Eustace’
the specimens mysteriously came back to
by Pisanello inform her current work.
life. She then fabricated this story with clay, creating a swarm of ceramic insects.
Anna Collette Hunt uses clay to create vivid
Anna has continued this work allowing the
worlds you can step into. They may be
audience to step into the fable, engaging
universes or they may be mere fragments,
with both the story and the sinister beauty
it depends on how much she chooses
of the work.
to reveal. The scenes and compositions captured speak of historic grandeur and
Anya Keeley is a creator and curator of
past traditions, whilst on closer inspection
curious creatures and whimsical wonders.
whisper darker sentiments delicately into
From a young age, Anya has compulsively
your ear. The curiously odd ceramics radiate
collected found objects and ephemera,
her preoccupation with historic houses for
squirreling them away into jars, tins and
their decoration, opulence, and obsessive
suitcases - driftwood, sheet music, darning
Anya Keeley
mushrooms, oil cans, vintage kitchenalia
and exploring ideas about decorating death
and board games. Enticed by the beauty
or death as decoration. Inspiration has come
of patina, which only comes with age and
from taxidermy, mourning photography and
wear, Anya assembles these pieces into
the relationship of human and animal. Often
whimsical works of art. Inspiration comes
using myths as a starting point her work is
from fairy tales, nursery rhymes and the
about magic and imagination but here she
curiousness of the natural world. Often the
is exploring a much darker theme, a much
creatures she makes are pure figments of
darker aesthetic linked to an investigation
her imagination. She tries to envisage the
into the uncanny. Veiling has become a
oddities that many a Victorian explorer
focus, the model is denied sight, and she is
could have encountered on voyages to
hidden from view. This is the idea of veiling
different lands. These whimsies are then
protecting us from the real.
named and labelled. A museum of her own fantasy.
Inspired by the European tradition of papercutting and silhouettes, particularly
Anna Lewis’s latest work stems from a body
the papercuts of Hans Christian Andersen,
of research into notions of death, beauty
much of Emma Molony’s work starts with
Emma Molony
designs cut with blades and is then
Collecting objects from the obscure to
transferred onto screens so she can
the miniature, found and fabricated, is the
experiment
repeat
starting point for most of Grainne Morton’s
patterns. “These pieces are inspired by
designs. Since she can remember, Grainne
wolves in short stories. I am interested in
Morton has been a bit of a magpie, hoarding
layering various printmaking processes and
incessantly anything miniature or eclectic
combining the detail of lasercutting with
that has caught her eye. These objects
print to create small details which brings
become the narrative form for her jewellery
the viewer closer to the detail and fabric of
and are collaged together by arrangement
the tale. The idea of creating scenes and
and rearrangement until all the objects
stories in baubles came about when I was
connect with each other in order to create
creating some work inspired by The Snow
lively, colourful spontaneous stories. “In
Queen and I liked the possibility of a story
most of my designs I aspire to evoke a
in a snowflake. These baubles are meant to
feeling of nostalgia. I consciously work in
be little imaginary worlds in a globe.”
a miniature scale, using a diverse range of
with
colours
and
materials in order to create attention so that the onlooker has to become more involved
Cleo Mussi
in the piece, hopefully sparking memory and
spiritual feel as if she is creating modern
thought, as well as making them smile.”
day totems, steeped in iconographic symbolism.
There is an inherent sense of humour in Cleo Mussi’s work, even though many of
Sophie
her pieces deal with serious themes – love,
figures explore the fluid space between
death, nature, faith, genetic engineering and
the animal and human worlds that we find
medical research. “My work appears to be
in myths and fairy tales. She is interested
pretty and attractive and banal but there’s
in the blurring of reality and the surreal
something else going on underneath the
in these stories, which reflects the way
surface. When you look a bit deeper you
our minds process imagery, emotions and
see that it is slightly sinister and actually
information. Using a coiling and pinching
quite black”. The narrative within her work
method her uncanny creatures bring to
is reflected within the ceramic that she
mind the dark tales, told to us in childhood
incorporates. Her intuitive use of colour
and nurtured in our subconscious.
gives the appearance of the pieces being studded with jewels and they emanate a
Woodrow’s
delicate
porcelain
Sophie Woodrow
Enchanted forests, duplicitous figures,
and fears through their work and maybe
macabre
question what broody malevolence lurks in
creatures,
talking
and
metamorphous animals have long been
those fairy tale forests.
used as cautionary tales as well as thrilling entertainment for adults and children. Initially passed on by word of mouth, later the imagination of artists gave flight to these stories in print and created images which are now ingrained into our visual memories. They depict a darker side to life where mythical beasts and items from imaginary worlds allow the impossible happen. Fear of the dark is probably one of the most common and primal of fears, but can also be a great source of creativity: to imagine what could be out there. The artists in this exhibition look at life’s mysteries, desires,
Sarah James and Louise Jones-Williams
Julie Arkell
Julie Arkell “It all began with the crows. I became fascinated
their walking sticks in a barren landscape.
with them about a year ago. I like their dark
Black can send a shiver down my spine.
blackness, the shape of them and their rather
From an old crumpled black frock, black
sinister, clever and curious natures.
handwriting to Susan Hills ‘a woman in black’... Black can have dark tales to tell.”
This led me on to appreciating the colour black. I hardly had any black fabric in the
Julie Arkell is one of the country’s best
studio (or wore it myself) so needed to dye
recognised contemporary folk artists. After
an assortment of material to dress the crow
studying fashion at St Martin’s, she began
creatures. I marvelled at all the different
selling her work at a stall in Covent Garden
blacks that emerged – ink black, brown
and now shows her wonderful creatures in
black, dusty black, sooty black, grey black...
galleries around the world. Working from
the list could go on. I gaze each day at an
her London studio, she forms and paints
August Sander black and white photograph
their paper-mache bodies, hand sewing and
‘peasants on way to a dance, Westenwald
embroidering their clothes and knitting the
1914’. I have loved this picture for years, now
accessories. Julie regularly holds workshops
I saw them as crows, seriously standing with
both in the UK and abroad.
Amanda and Matt Caines
Amanda and Matt Caines “Our latest work is a collaboration of
Amanda and Matt are both successful
Amanda’s stitchwork techniques and Matt’s
artists in their own right but often
interest in the art of maritime scrimshaw and
collaborate, they have recently relocated
engraving on shed antler to create a body
to Abergavenny. Amanda creates unique
of free standing sculptures and hanging
hand stitched and bound fabric jewellery
pieces inspired by the anthropomorphic
and icons using semi-precious stones,
nature of fairy tales and folklore. Man’s
wood, object d’art and tumbled glass. From
identification with animals and the taking
childhood she has always been a magpie,
on of an animal’s properties dates back
collecting anything that captured her eye
from prehistory to contemporary film and
or imagination. Through her jewellery she
literature and underpins many fairy stories
explores the realms of archeology, collecting
and folklore themes. Modern life has put
and recycling. In November 2010 Amanda
distance between us and this powerful and
won the ‘New Traditional Jewellery’ Award at
primal imagery and yet we still feel the basic
Sieraad, the International Jewellery Art Fair
attraction in animal identification. Our new
held in Amsterdam.
work explores this dilemma and conflict.”
Amanda and Matt Caines Matt is a sculptor working in marble, red soapstone, oak, flint, antler and slate, seeking something timeless and solid in his work, giving you a link to an unending stream of human expression. Recent work includes creating a plaque and workshops at the Museum of London based on Roman artifacts and at the Sir John Soane Museum; and the restoration of Sam Wanamaker’s stone at the Globe Theatre. He has over a decade’s experience in teaching and has worked in Carrara, Italy and Greece and recently Arctic Canada.
Amanda and Matt Caines
Jennifer Collier
Jennifer Collier Jennifer’s practice focuses on creating work
forms. For this exhibition Jennifer has taken
from paper; by bonding, waxing, trapping
stories of folklore and fairy tales, reusing
and
unusual
and transforming them into dresses, shoes
paper ‘fabrics’ which are used to explore
and gloves with embroidery and stitch the
the ‘remaking’ of clothes and household
glimpses of the text give us a glimpse of the
objects. The papers are treated as if cloth,
story.
stitching
she
produces
with the main technique employed being stitch; a contemporary twist on traditional
Working from her studio in Stafford, Jennifer
textiles. The original concept for her work
also runs her own gallery, Unit Twelve,
came from the novel ‘Oranges Are Not
housing artist’s studios, contemporary craft
the Only Fruit’ by Jeanette Winterson,
exhibitions and art workshops. Jennifer
which she used as the basis for her degree
has exhibited widely and been running art
show. Whenever she needs inspiration she
workshop for 15 years including at many
returns to literature or poetry. The papers
galleries such as The V&A, Tate Liverpool
themselves serve as both the inspiration and
and Manchester Art Gallery.
the media for her work, with the narrative of the books and papers suggesting the
Kate Gilliland
Kate Gilliland Imaginary tales from the past encapsulated
treasured animals that inspire her jewellery
in found and treasured objects spark Kate’s
are all found already dead, by Kate or friends.
imagination.
cabinets
She encourages you to see the tiny detail
crammed with an eclectic mix of the weird
and beauty in these beautiful little animals.
and the wonderful inspire a great deal of
From foraging in the British woodland to
her work. “I try to set my own stories in my
finding these beautiful fragments of nature
pieces and stir the fantastic to life. Protective
in the urban landscape, every animal has
cases preserve and record found treasures,
their own story which could be a remnant
small dead creatures, skulls, teeth, bone, act
from a fairy tale.
Old
collections,
as small reliquaries, bringing atmospheric stories to life, illuminating, evoking and
She has exhibited at The National Centre
asking questions.” Kate’s jewellery designs
for Craft and Design, Unit Twelve and RBSA
preserve a little piece of the past for the
Gallery, Birmingham. She works from a shared
future, each delicate handcrafted piece
workshop, in Birmingham’s historic jewellery
sparks your imagination with fantastical
quarter and helped form the Quarter Studios
tales. A wondrous piece of wearable natural
Collective in 2011.
history, immortalised in precious metal. The
Virginia Head
Virginia Head Virginia’s drawings access the wild and
prefer her child to take. However, children
uncharted depths of the psyche, teasing
are curious, adventurous and wilful. They
out imagined worlds of demons, imps
seek excitement and yearn to explore the
and wayward travellers. We enter other
world outside. And so it is that the child
dimensions of shape-shifters and hybrid
learns about danger, threat, wrong-doing
animals, courting the dangers of riding
and its terrible consequences. The moral
bare-back and rough-shod alongside the
code of the fairy tale teaches the child
devil himself.
patience, endurance, tenacity, perseverance, and courage. She learns about true love and
Fairy tales have become stripped of their
the strange guises it may appear in.
darker, more menacing message by those who deem them too sinister, blood-thirsty or
Through metaphor and parable she learns
frightening for little children. Themes such
how to recognise opportunities to help
as abandonment, amputation, torture and
others less fortunate, to give freely of her
murder were common in the original tales
time and skills, to work hard, to serve and
and served as a warning against straying
wait on those who deride or scorn her. She
far from the path: the path Mother would
learns that beauty comes inside - from purity
Virginia Head of intention, inner strength, versatility and determination. Against all odds good wins out over evil, and the many ‘deaths’ she faces are but initiations. Such is the power of the fairy tale to educate and enlighten that it is easy to understand why adults still hunger after them, in all their gory detail.
Virginia Head
Catrin Howell
Catrin Howell Animals and the roles they play in mythology
Recurring themes such as metamorphosis
are a constant theme in Catrin’s work. She
and transformation, and the painting of ‘The
is interested in the universality of myth,
Vision of St Eustace’ by Pisanello inform my
narrative and symbolism. She is drawn to
current work.
myth because it allows the impossible to happen; challenging our perceptions by
Born and brought up on a farm in west Wales
playing with assumptions of the real and the
it seems natural that animals should provide
supposed. She is fascinated by animals and
inspiration for Catrin’s work. Her work is
the way they are used to convey narratives,
in collections across Europe and the UK,
from the roles they play in mythology, as
including Prague’s Museum of Decorative
iconic symbols, and their ability to convey
Arts, and the International Ceramics
messages, often carrying out complex roles.
Studio Collection in Kecskemet, Hungary.
The Mabinogion continues to inspire Catrin
Having graduated from the University of
, and this historic narrative combined with
Wolverhampton and later the Royal College
contemporary stories and folktales feed
of Art in London, Catrin has also won many
into her work. Recent work is inspired
awards.
by Medieval Bestiaries and tapestries.
Anna Collette Hunt
Anna Collette Hunt Anna uses clay to create vivid worlds you
After studying entomology collections she
can step into. They may be universes or
was inspired to write a fairy tale in which
they may be mere fragments, it depends
the specimens mysteriously came back to
on how much she chooses to reveal. The
life. She then fabricated this story with
scenes and compositions captured speak
clay, creating a swarm of of ceramic insects.
of historic grandeur and past traditions,
Anna has continued this work allowing the
whilst
whisper
audience to step into the fable, engaging
darker sentiments delicately into your ear.
with both the story and the sinister beauty
The curiously odd ceramics radiate her
of the work.
on
closer
inspection
preoccupation with historic houses for their decoration, opulence, and obsessive
Anna Collette Hunt is a based in
natural history collections and specimens.
Nottingham and specialising in ceramics
Drawings of these elements are playfully
and illustration. She has also created large
translated onto the clay, exerting a rich and
scale installations, her first was ‘Stirring the
captivating presence that delights, intrigues
Swarm’ which was unveiled at Nottingham
and is sometimes haunting to the eye.
Castle. Anna graduated from Nottingham Trent University, in 2010 received a grant
Anna Collette Hunt from the Craft Pottery Charitable Trust. The ‘Stirring the Swarm’ project is still evolving and she was awarded a digital commission by Craftspace, to produce an IPhone App to extend and enhance the experience of Stirring the Swarm.
Anna Collette Hunt
Anya Keeley
Anya Keeley Anya is a creator and curator of curious
explorer could have encountered on voyages
creatures & whimsical wonders. From a
to different lands. These whimsies are then
young age, Anya has compulsively collected
named and labelled. A museum of her own
found objects and ephemera, squirreling
fantasy.
them away into jars, tins and suitcases - driftwood, sheet music and ephemera,
Anya uses an array of processes in her work
darning mushrooms, oil cans, vintage
because of the variety of mediums she
kitchenalia and board games. Enticed by
incorporates; however, wire-working is a
the beauty of patina, which only comes with
common feature. She uses brass wire, shaped,
age and wear, Anya assembles these pieces
soldered and hammered, to form the basis
into whimsical works of art.
of her dioramas and brush sculptures. The final stage of each piece consists of using a
Inspiration comes from fairy tales, nursery
water based varnish to seal and protect any
rhymes and the curiousness of the natural
vintage paper and ephemera
world. Often the creatures she makes are pure figments of her imagination. She tries to
Anya is based in Hereford and exhibits
envisage the oddities that many a Victorian
widely across Britain.
Anna Lewis
Anna Lewis Anna’s latest work stems from a body of
Anna Lewis is a jewellery designer based in
research into notions of death and beauty
Swansea. Previously her work explored ideas
through the vehicle of a fashion object.
of memory, of storytelling and fantasy. She
Exploring ideas about decorating death or
has worked in a range of mediums such as
death as decoration. Inspiration has come
printed feathers, leather and wood combined
from thoughts on taxidermy, on mourning
with silver and stones. She has worked
photography and the relationship of
across many disciplines from installation
human and animal. Often using myths as
to art direction and production design for
a starting point her work is about magic
fashion photography and music videos.
and imagination but here she is exploring a
Having just completed an MA Anna’s work is
much darker theme, a much darker aesthetic
now exploring a much darker aesthetic with
linked to an investigation into the uncanny.
uncanny undertones interpreted through
Veiling has become a focus, the model is
fashion objects and photography.
denied sight, and she is hidden from view. This is the idea of veiling protecting us from the real.
Emma Molony
Emma Molony Inspired by the European tradition of
the tale. The idea of creating scenes and
papercutting and silhouettes, particularly
stories in baubles came about when I was
the papercuts of Hans Christian Andersen,
creating some work inspired by The Snow
much of Emma’s work starts with designs
Queen and I liked the possibility of a story
cut with blades and is then transferred onto
in a snowflake. These baubles are meant to
screens so she can experiment with colours
be little imaginary worlds in a globe.”
and repeat patterns. “I don’t want to stray too far from the tactile process of sticky
Emma started printmaking in 2002 when
black ink, damp paper and rolling plates
she was living in Venice and was fascinated
through the etching press though, because
by the dark inky print studios. She learnt
that’s where the unpredictable printing
etching,
magic takes place. These pieces are inspired
Stamperia Albrizzi and Stamperia del
by wolves in short stories. I am interested in
Tintoretto. She returned to Devon in 2005
layering various printmaking processes and
and is now one of the directors of Double
combining the detail of lasercutting with
Elephant Print Workshop in Exeter. She also
print to create small details which brings
teaches printmaking using a portable press
the viewer closer to the detail and fabric of
and mobile workshop – taking printmaking
mezzotint,
and
woodcut
at
Emma Molony out to the wider community at galleries, schools, hospitals, prisons and community centres. She designs and sells screenprinted wallpaper and prints as well as undertaking a range of site-specific commissions throughout the UK.
Emma Molony
Grainne Morton
Grainne Morton Collecting objects from the obscure to
in the piece, hopefully sparking memory and
the miniature, found and fabricated, is the
thought, as well as making them smile.”
starting point for most of Grainne Morton’s designs. Since she can remember Grainne
Born and brought up in Northern Ireland,
has been a bit of a magpie, hoarding
Grainne moved to Edinburgh to attend
incessantly anything miniature or eclectic
Edinburgh College of Art. It was during
that has caught her eye. These objects
this time that she became an avid collector
become the narrative form for her jewellery
of vintage and antique ephemera. After
and are collaged together by arrangement
graduating, Grainne set up in business and
and rearrangement until all the objects
received a Startup Grant from The Scottish
connect with each other in order to create
Arts Council. Her work has been exhibited
lively, colourful spontaneous stories. “In
internationally, featured widely in the press
most of my designs I aspire to evoke a
and more recently, in various blogs. She
feeling of nostalgia. I consciously work in
supplies Barney’s in the US and Japan as well as
a miniature scale, using a diverse range of
Liberty’s in the UK. Grainne has also received
materials in order to create attention so that
many awards, including being short listed for
the onlooker has to become more involved
the Jerwood Applied Arts Prize - Jewellery.
Cleo Mussi
Cleo Mussi There is an inherent sense of humour in
aspirations and desire for ornamentation
Cleo Mussi’s work, even though many of
across the classes. The work holds cross
her pieces deal with serious themes – love,
cultural references in fashionable design
death, nature, faith, even medical research.
, travel and commerce and represents the
“My work appears to be pretty and
story of industrial ceramic history. Chinese
attractive and banal but there’s something
ceramic meets Wedgewood, Poole sits next
else going on underneath the surface.
to Japanese porcelain and Staffordshire
When you look a bit deeper you see that it
unites with Homebase to form a unique and
is slightly sinister and actually quite black”.
motley collection of work.
The narrative within her work is reflected within the ceramic that she incorporates.
Cleo
originally
studied
textiles
at
She recycles a large proportion of her
Goldsmiths and her interest in recycled
materials; the combinations of marks
fabrics, knowledge of pattern, print, weave
and glazes as well as functional forms
and stitch translates easily into reclaimed
are combined to produce works whose
ceramic. Based in Stroud, she scours junk
content reflect design styles and fashions
shops for broken china and buys seconds
within British ceramic history incorporating
from ceramicist Emma Bridgewater. Cleo
Cleo Mussi Mussi has produced large scale installations such as ‘The Crowd’, ‘A~Z- a hand book’ and ‘Pharma’s Market’. She has also completed a number of large commissions for public spaces including The John Lewis Partnership in Solihull and The BBC Asian Network in Leicester.
Cleo Mussi
Sophie Woodrow
Sophie Woodrow Sophie Woodrow’s delicate porcelain figures
the uniquely intricate technique of coiling,
explore the fluid space between the animal
incising and impressing that we see on
and human worlds that we find in myths and
her delicately textured figurines today.
fairy tales. She is interested in the blurring
Woodrow’s unusually striking porcelain
of reality and the surreal in these stories,
figures have been collected by devoted
which reflects the way our minds process
patrons for over ten years, with work on
imagery, emotions and information. Using a
display in numerous high-profile galleries
coiling and pinching method her uncanny
throughout the UK. Inspired by the Victorian
creatures bring to mind the dark tales, told
era and their idolisation of nature as art,
to us in childhood and nurtured in our
Sophie has put her own spin on the theories
subconscious.
of evolution with her unique collection. She also stocks an exclusive range at Heal’s.
Born in Bristol in 1979, Sophie Woodrow went on to study a BA Hons in Studio Ceramics at Falmouth College of Art. Ever since an early age Sophie has been drawn to working with clay, allowing her to refine
Grainne Morton
‘Dark Tales’ A Llantarnam Grange Arts Centre Touring Exhibition. We would like to thank all the makers who have allowed us to exhibit their work in ‘Dark Tales’. Exhibition Curators: Sarah James and Louise Jones-Williams Translation: Heddwen Pugh Edwards Design: Hillview Design Published by Llantarnam Grange Arts Centre. Text ©The Authors and LGAC 2014 Llantarnam Grange Arts Centre St.David’s Road Cwmbran Torfaen NP44 1PD T: +44(0)1633 483321 E: info@lgac.org.uk W: www.lgac.org.uk Llantarnam Grange Arts Centre is part of the Arts Council of Wales portfolio of Revenue Funded Organisations. Registered Charity no: 1006933 Company Limited by Guarantee no: 2616241 Llantarnam Grange Arts Centre is funded by the Arts Council of Wales, Torfaen County Borough Council and Monmouthshire County Council. This publication may not be reproduced in whole or in part in any form without written permission from the publisher.
Back Cover: Anna Lewis