The Ceramic House opened its doors for the first time in 2011, as part of Artists Open Houses http://aoh.org.uk/, the year of the 30th anniversary of AOH.
The Ceramic House is a project that has been in the making for several years. Ever since I moved to Brighton in 2008 and found out about Artists Open Houses, I realised it is the perfect forum for me to show my work in context, using my house and garden as a site for my permanent installations.
Surveying the spaces available, I decided on a number of suitable “sites” indoors and out, and made a shortlist of proposals for pieces of artwork to be completed over a 3-year period. My studio is filled with ceramics left over from previous commissions, so my initial idea was to overhaul old ceramic and glass works. The concept for the new pieces is to recreate or rework pieces of artwork originally designed for specific sites around the UK and abroad, therefore the name of each piece in The Ceramic House corresponds to its original location. In some instances, art works have reappeared, reworked, many years after their creation. In others, a few tiles remained, inspiring a brand new piece.
In addition, each year, I select a number of ceramic artists to exhibit alongside my permanent installations. 11 established and emerging ceramists participated in the show in 2011, which was very well received.
In 2011 The Ceramic House was also part of HOUSE festival. Artist and composer Joseph Young was commissioned by HOUSE to create a sound installation for iPods composed entirely of sounds recorded in my studio and visitors were offered aural and visual sensory experiences into the world of ceramics.