Elysium Gallery, Swansea
Fri 25 Mar – Sat 2 Apr
South-Wales based visual artist AJ Stockwell presents a new body of work at the elysiumgallery from March onwards, demonstrating the creations developed during her residency at the gallery. Fascinated by a range of materials, specifically ceramics, and the way these materials can affect human behaviour, the artist’s work often takes multiple forms as she borrows languages and processes from other disciplines. Her work focuses on the contemporary relationship we have with artefacts and their modes of construction. As a primarily research based artist, Stockwell often works across different mediums including video, print, performance and photography. The artist graduated from the MA Ceramics programme at Cardiff School of Art and Design, where she produced a series of ceramic forms using bass speakers, an amplifier and a frequency generator. Stockwell creatively constructed a new method of throwing clay to create works, relying on visual engagement rather than physically touching the material. This idea developed as a response to pottery wheels and the way individuals create a connection through the sense of touch when they repeatedly practice the art of throwing clay. Currently an intern with the Wales Artist Resource Programme at artist-run gallery, G39, she was also a resident artist in the incubator programme Inc. Space at CSAD. The programme gives graduates the opportunity to spend an additional year at the school to launch their own business as practicing artists or designers. Described as an interdisciplinary artist, Stockwell has worked on previous projects including the public gifting of a vessel to highlight the hidden history of Elder Park in Govan, Scotland, called The Gifting, Great & Good. In 2014, she constructed another clay vessel embedded with one year’s worth of paper receipts, named Please Retain for your Records. If that’s anything to go by, you can definitely expect to see a large amount of creativity and abstract ideas at her latest exhibition.
Admission: Free. Info: 07980 925 449 / www.elysiumgallery.com
words ELENA HECTOR
