I have an enduring fascination for the vessel as literal container and metaphorical body. It has proved to be a rich and rewarding subject for research and investigation through my creative practice. The long-established relationship between container and body was first evidenced in Neolithic potsherds where human features are depicted on clay wares, creating an explicit and inextricable link between the human form and the vessel on which it is described. It is to the language of anatomy that we turn to categorize and organise the parts of the vessel: lip, mouth, neck, belly, shoulder and foot. These anthropomorphic associations are not exclusive to utilitarian function: pre-Christian cultures repurposed old and broken pots - once used to store food - to bury their dead, demonstrating a deep-rooted and profound connection between clay and human vessel, their descriptors disintegrating into each other along with their physical matter.

It is with an understanding of this broadest of contexts that I interrogate the ‘ceramic vessel’ as object, material and symbol, and as functional form, gallery-based artefact, and component within pioneering technologies. My knowledge of precedents and conventions allows me to scrutinise them and test how far the ceramic process can be pushed. I strive to articulate this process of enquiry in unique pieces that offer a discrete perspective on a greater narrative. Every object I make reflects a personal observation of the parallels between the natural world and the human body as a mechanism we endeavour to reshape, control and manipulate.