Martin McWilliam

He defines his work as “pots in essence”. They seem to contain depth and volume but prove to be almost flat when inspected more closely. The geometric manipulation of shape and the subtle decoration are combined with the texture achieved by wood firing in the Japanese Noborigama oven. Since spring 2009, his thought process has developed in terms of his view of dimensions. In his most recent work, he is looking for a multivariable pot, with dimensions not directly perceivable for us, but which exist in a parallel world, linked with contrasts such as positive versus negative and inside versus outside.

about his recent work 2020: "In addition to my “virtual” jars and bowls I will be showing a new series of work following up on the vessel in time and space. Fragmented solid porcelain/stoneware vessel forms mounted in between glass columns.

I have been considering a history of mistakes. Slipping into a new space - shifting from trying to copy the work I liked so much to more the idea of them and all the beauty and shortcomings of clay water and fire - Instead of imitating - I work on re-presenting.

In my personal universe there is a space time reality locked up in those simple clay forms – the jar and the bowl as archetypal forms I felt they go a lot deeper than we can imagine. What a major cultural change that must have been when we began to store and share food in those simple forms.

Recently I have been thrilled to notice the shift in the approach to the restoration of vessels instead of attempting to plug missing areas - a space is left for your imagination to fill."