Edmund de Waal. The Lost and the Found

About

Originally conceived for the Pier Arts Centre in Stromness, these pieces evoke a sense of place inspired by the unique light, landscape, mythology and history of Orkney. They were first shown alongside works by David Ward and the collections donated by Margaret Gardiner.

The title of our show is taken from a group of seventeen wall-mounted, glazed vitrines containing various types of vessel in dark coloured glazes. The scale and texture of the porcelain is redolent of found objects, like sea-worn artefacts washed up on an Orkney beach. Moreover, with their stony and metallic glazes and blistered or punctured surfaces, they suggest the kind of Neolithic or Iron Age relics previously unearthed on the island. The title of another work, 'sgeir', is Gaelic for skerry or a small rocky island. The two lines of vessels in celadon and cream glazes contained in a pair of vitrines, appear like the distant horizon. A further six freestanding vitrines are like a series of islands scattered through the Artists House; their collective title 'holmr' is taken from an Old Norse word meaning a small island.