As 2019 turned into 2020, friends wished each other ‘a Happy Roaring Twenties.’

We didn’t mean them to roar in quite the way they have though. In this collection of pots I have focused on the humanity of my subjects while also keeping my humour sharpened in response to the whirling madness of the times.

In the last few years, Gender Ideology has become a dominant conversation in politics, law, health, education, and even in international banking and business as well as in sport, arts and culture. Its quasi-religious qualities have inspired three of the pots in ‘Fired!’: ‘I Believe,’ is a rewrite of The Apostolic Creed, ‘The Ballad of Sister Bergdorf,’ is an exploration of Transubstantiation, and ‘Circus Acts,’ an allegory on the Gender Circus as a whole. 

Brave Face is another key pot in the exhibition. The making of this piece – the shattering and careful rebuilding – was prompted by listening to women who are survivors of the sex trade talking about their lives. ‘I was shattered. Now I’m piecing myself slowly back together.’ Some are still caught up in the trade, others have managed to get out. Common to all of them is the brave face they have had to put on just to survive. Two more pots, both broken and mended, are part of the same project. One of the main aims was to highlight the human cost of prostitution, particularly to women and girls.

I wanted to show these three pots among others that were inspired by companionship and family – both chosen and original – to emphasise our collective interdependence and the importance of friendship, camaraderie and celebration in our lives.

We Are Family

Circus Act

Intimacy Restored

Brave Face