Bilston Craft Gallery, Wolverhampton hosted Earth : Atmosphere by Halima Cassell and Siko Kinoshita from
1 May - 10 July 2010
'The experiment is running now, the reactants and their medium are selected. The challenge remains for us - the viewers - in the observation, recording, and interpretation of the results. Will we recognise the new when we see it? Can we stretch our perceptions and integrate 'the shape of things' into a new framework for contempoary craft?' Sophie Heath, curator Bilston Crafts Gallery
Artists' statements
'My concept for the exhibition combined the apparent opposites of similarity and difference. By utilising clay from diverse parts of the World - including Japan, Israel and Pakistan - all of which have their own distinctive character and identity, I wanted to symbolically represent the differences in creed and culture of the many and varied races which populate our planet.
As someone of South Asian origin who is perceived in Pakistan as a British Asian (or, as someone said to me whilst visiting Pakistan ‘a foreigner from England’), and in England as being of Pakistani origin (or a ‘foreigner/second generation immigrant’) I am keenly aware of issues of identity. I want my work to be able to speak for anyone who has ever felt displaced or uprooted from their homeland, or even those of us who are unaware of our cultural origins. After all, the current scientific evidence of DNA suggests that we are all of African descent!!
We all come from the clay of the earth and eventually we all return to that same clay.' Halima Cassell
'My concept for the shape of things’ exhibition was based on my observation of British people through my eyes as a foreigner. These tolerant and generous people strive to understand and learn from different cultures, sometimes neglecting to preserve and cherish their own lovely Britishness.
After a few years living in Britain, I started to notice how weather has a profound, almost controlling, effect on the daily moods and attitudes of British people. This phenomenon fascinates me and inspired me to make two contrasting works, both hand dyed and woven installations, designed to create a harmonious relationship between gallery space and viewer.' Seiko Kinoshita
‘This cool and calm oasis is food for the soul. The installations are inspirational, fresh and thoughtful. Curating excellent as usual. Thank you.’ member of the public
Catalogues
The catalogues have essays by Teleri Lloyd-Jones, Sophie Heath, and Ellie Herring
