“Body,
Vessel, Archetype” Roz Cryer
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| Roz Cryer, "The Eating Bowl 5", embroidery and oil on canvas, Price on request |
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| Roz Cryer, Installation of bowls including shelf, porcelain with wool, Price on request |
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Artist Statement
‘The power of clay is with us
from the creation myth beginnings from the well known Bible story of Adam made
from clay to Mud Diver and Coyote of the North American Indians.’
(Quote by Kathleen I Kimball).
There is something deeply entrenched in the human psyche about the use
of and the symbolism of clay. Throughout history, in many cultures, ‘humans
have seen clay pots as people and clay objects housing the soul;’ Pots as
houses of the spirit. And there are still rituals and taboos concerning the
making and using of pots, for example ‘when a Gurensi woman dies her eating
bowl is broken at the funeral as the pot’ is symbolic here of the body as
vessel, the body which is no longer working.
Joseph Campbell talked about developing ‘an identification with our
consciousness and no longer’ regarding ‘our physical body as who we are. That
the body is the vehicle through which our consciousness/spirit interact,
experience and participate within our physical environment.’
These concepts are pivotal to this body of work.
For my vessels I have used porcelain, as for me it requires more time
and patient attention than other clays. It is reminder for me to slow down and
to enjoy and appreciate the journey/process. When fired it is at once strong
and yet fragile. Unglazed it reminds me of bone. The mendhi patterns that I
have used to decorate the porcelain hint at celebration and blessings.
For my oil paintings I have used unmounted highly decorative and
embroidered canvases with the aim of integrating both aesthetically and metaphorically what I
paint and the surfaces on which I paint. As with previous work, the
fabrics on which I paint allude to the observation that often times both
paintings and concepts are rarely painted on blank canvases but are laid down
on cultural fabrics that alter or impact our perceptions.
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