Daughters Of Theia
At its heart, Daughters of Theia is an artwork that celebrates women’s relationship to the moon. The work comprises eighty-four ceramic goddesses, individually made with the help of invited artists and friends. The work was conceived over a period of three months, where I turned the studio at Watts Artist’s village into a communal workshop to make the clay forms. The studio became a site for intimate discussion, escape, concentration and laughter - a process I often find becomes an integral part in the making of my installations.
‘In modern times, the moon is most often discussed in scientific terms, compounding its influence to physical laws and future possibilities for man. Within my Watts residency, I want to put women at the heart of my moon relief, drawing on the symbolism used the by the likes of Evelyn De Morgan, George Watts, Helen Allingham and Bryon Cooper.
In the frieze, the goddesses are surrounded by the lunar phases, entangling them within the cyclic rhythms of life’.
The goddess form used as the basis for the design originated from an early Romanian fertility figurine, C. 4500 BC, a symbol I have chosen to represent the ancient relationship that has endured since the earliest civilisations between women, the moon and its seasons.
The execution and production of the work is key. All the individual elements have been Raku fired, a Japanese ceramic method which involves removing pottery from the kiln while at bright red heat and placing into containers of wood chips, straw and other fast burning materials. The dull grey glazes are instantly transmuted into bright gold, silver and copper alloys that form a thin skin over the goddesses.
This alchemy gives a sense of the explosive nature of the birth of the moon, following the giant-impact hypothesis, which suggests that the moon formed out of the debris left over from a collision between Earth and an astronomical body called Theia, approximately 4.5 billion years ago. Theia was a mythical Greek god, the mother of Selene, the goddess of the Moon.
I’m best known for my site-specific light installations and this work if no different.
The piece is brought to life by sunlight, just as the moon. The relief is situated on an east facing wall, so the goddesses wake up with the rising sun.
With thanks to:
Jenny Hook, Naomi Beevers, Jule Mallett, Miranda Dace, Ann Dace, Martin Dace, Liz Ward, Helen Wellington, Jill Gulabov, Pippa Vaughan, Sue Chamberlain, Barbara Hester, Rosemarie Juliano, Liz Collins, Cheryl King, Jo Carter, Dominique Goodwin, Sarah Jarvis, Liz K Miller, Ali Clark, Ruth Barrett Danes, Helen Baines, Di Brockbank, Angela Bradshaw, Debra-Lorraine Grant, Jenny Rickman, Katherine Peeke, Annee Robson, Mags Hardwick, Emma Brown, Joyce Hyslop, Hannah Mianis, Jean Baptist, Gerry Baptist, Sam Neech, Jane Botha Michels, Hilary Soper, Carole Jux, Katie Tress, Jan Lofthouse, Jane Kynaston, Gill Soupiron, Sally Laborero, Eve Lloyd, Mary Mann Louise Grundy, Chloe Byrne, Cate Davey, Jonathan Woolly, Candida Woolly, Mary Hainline, Kara Wescombe, Barbara Goulay- Gall, Ellen Love, Micheal Alexiou, Bina Ghisoni, Liz Calthorpe, Tania Verling, Molly Nickells, Bella Betts, Julie Hoyle, Carmen O’connor, Katy Hunter - Choat, Mark Weighton, Karl Newman, Alice Offer, Gill Saunders, Veronica Gates, Hilary Underwood, Craig Underwood, Kate Hayward, Eben Hayward, Anne Branson, Andy Branson, Carey Smith, Mat Clark, Edd Jordan, Chris Jordan, Jo Bellingham, Maddie Jordan, The Dennis boys, Barry the Pipe, Chris Frost and the generous support from the whole team at the Watts Artist Village.