Jennifer Conroy-Smith

“I’m fascinated with exploring less conventional ways to work with porcelain, to push the structural boundaries.”

Jennifer Conroy-Smith is a Melbourne-based, British artist specialising in porcelain, predominantly creating site specific installations and sculpture. Drawn to porcelain for its purity and its ability to transmit luminance, Jennifer investigates light, shadow and movement through attenuated tactile forms, exploring the dichotomy of the material’s strength with its gentle aesthetic.

Part of Craft Victoria’s virtual exhibition series, in ‘The Space Within’ Jennifer presents a collection of porcelain sculptures exploring themes of the body, the breath and human interconnectivity.

First presented online throughout October as part of Craft Contemporary, ‘The Space Within’ will be installed at CLAD Bendigo, Bendigo Pottery in December 2020.

Jennifer, you previously lived in the heart of the UK’s Ceramics industry, please tell us your story - what led you to become an artist and specialise in porcelain?

I was always creative from a very young age, inspired by my Mum who passed her love of creativity and music on to me and always encouraged me to be creative.

I’m from the U.K originally and studied for my Undergrad at Staffordshire University, which is known as the heart of the Ceramics industry. It’s a town steeped in ceramic heritage, all the big ceramic manufacturers such as Wedgewood, Royal Doulton, Spode (to name a few) were based there. The town is known as ‘The Potteries!’

During a Foundation course (which in the U.K is a one year program you complete before moving to a Degree.) I had amazing tutors in the Sculpture Department, who encouraged us to work in unconventional ways and to experiment with materials. I specialised here in Ceramic Sculpture, but wasn’t sure whether to specialise solely in it at University, so I initially started on a very broad BA course where we did diagnostics in a range of different medium, including wood, metals, plastics, jewellery, glass and ceramics.

I continued to explore ceramics, but also fell in love with glass glowing, which is the most enchanting process, and ended up specialising in both for my Undergrad and Post Grad. It’s interesting looking back on work made over those years and courses, and looking back through old sketchbooks. I see the same inspirations, themes and investigations that are still being explored today.

After completing a Post Grad, I took a year out to travel and went on a mammoth trip through Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Thailand, Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand and Japan. I returned to the U.K completely inspired, and within two months, moved to London, where I spent the next nine years building my studio, practice and my teaching career, and worked with some incredible galleries. Fate had something different planned for me, as I also met my Australian husband there...which is what brings me to Melbourne.

Your sculptural pieces in ‘The Space Within’ are an outcome of technical experimentation and pushing the structural boundaries of porcelain. Can you speak more about this body of work?

It’s very much been a process of exploration and experimentation...and a test in patience!

Porcelain is known as one of the more challenging clay bodies to work with, it can be dry, difficult to shape, and cracks easily in its raw state if overworked. I’m fascinated with exploring less conventional ways to work with porcelain, to push the boundaries.

Porcelain has a memory, and distorts under high temperatures unless supported, which drives most people crazy, but I wanted to see if I could interact with that, to allow the material to engage in its final resting form, in a way.

The process I’ve developed for this body of work has evolved from experimentation, and changing different factors in each firing to see how much I could control the distortion of the porcelain forms. The work goes through a bisque firing, which is around 1000deg. After this process, I sand the forms multiple times, which at a few millimetres thick, is a very precarious process! Forms then return to the kiln for a firing which takes them to 1280 degrees.

By suspending the forms in the kiln at certain points, I can, to some extent, allow the porcelain to fold and drape of its own accord at specific areas within each form. This means it’s a total delight to open the kiln, as each form is entirely unique, so I’m always incredibly excited when it comes to unpacking the kiln. The next interesting part of the process is the element of balance and support. The forms lock into one another, each, relying on its counterpart to create equilibrium, alluding back to the concept of connectivity and vulnerability.

My work plays on the dichotomy of fragility and strength. Each fold of porcelain is just a few millimetres thick, but fired to 1280degrees, porcelain is also one of the strongest clay bodies.

Has Covid-19 and this period of isolation and social distancing allowed you to experiment or explore in ways different to your normal practice?

For me, it’s very much been a time of reflection, and a chance to slow down and experiment more. Often my week is a balancing act, splitting my time between commissioned work, lecturing at RMIT, and until very recently, working at a NFP as a Program Manager two days a week, leading various education programs for young asylum seekers and refugees new to Australia - something which I am still very passionate about.

So often I’m jumping from project to project, and don’t have an abundance of time to experiment. Having been made redundant from the NFP, (thanks Covid!) and RMIT moving to online lectures, it has forced me to slow down, take a breath, and evaluate. Gone is the rushing from place to place, and commission to commission.

I’m incredibly lucky to have my studio and kilns at home, so although this period of isolation has brought lots of challenges, (and worries, as my family are in the U.K) it has been an opportunity for me to throw myself into a new body of work, which takes time and patience to develop, and has been creatively and mentally all consuming...in a good way!

What are some of the creative references that you draw from and find inspiration?

I find inspiration in so many places, from fine art, sculpture, woodwork, architecture and there are so many Ceramicists globally that I admire for different reasons.

I’m very lucky to have spent lots of time travelling and to see so much inspiring work overseas. I love the work of Su Xianzhong, 2017, from Dehua, China. In particular, ‘The Paper Series’ where he creates sculptures from the most delicate paper like pieces of porcelain, sitting on old ceramic factory bricks. They are absolutely incredible to see in person. My husband was with me when I saw them in an exhibition for the first time, (having wanted to see them for years!) and he had to virtually usher me out of the gallery, having spent a vast amount of time studying them! They are just breathtaking.

I also love the work of Rafa Perez, (Spain) for his experimentation with fragility and strength, and in a similar vein, Japanese Artist Futamura Yoshimi. A great example of exploring the folded, torn forms with parasitic elements caused by surface treatments, or composite textures within the folds.

I greatly admire Dutch Artist Paula Bastiaansen for the fluidity and movement captured within the folds of her sculptures, which exude such simplicity yet strength. Irish Artist Nuala O’ Dovovan for her sculptural porcelain that comes alive through use of repetition, with the most beautifully tactile playful forms. I could go on and on…!

Outside of the Ceramics world, I love British Artist, Eleanor Lakelin’s wooden sculptures, that breathe fluidity, life and tactility into such a challenging material. In a sculptural sense, I’m drawn to Kate Macguire’s work, (U.K) for the use of repetition to create curvaceous, enormous forms that play on the balance of the macabre, yet are filled with such a sense of growth and movement. There’s something fascinating about them that intrigues yet slightly disturbs!

I also get inspired by Architecture, with my favourites from the illustrious British - Iraqi Architect, Zaha Hadid. I’ve seen so many of her buildings on my travels, and each one is awe inspiring. Last year I spent some time in South Korea and got to see the incredible Dongdaemun Design Plaza building in Seoul - just breathtaking. Her sense of movement, fluidity and incredible undulations are such an inspiration.

What are you most looking forward to? Do you have any exciting projects coming up?

I’m looking forward to being able to exhibit in Galleries again! I miss being able to see work in person, and work on site specific installations. Once we’re able to, the work in this online exhibition, along with some very new pieces, will be exhibited at CLAD Gallery in partnership with the historic Bendigo Pottery, which I am greatly looking forward to. Their new contemporary gallery is such a beautiful light filled space. I’m excited to work together with Eliza Tiernan and the Craft Team, and with Damon Moon, the Creative Director at CLAD to install the exhibition.

I’m also looking forward to being back on campus at RMIT! I’ve been Lecturing online this whole year, so it will be a great feeling to be back in the studio to see students' work progress again in person! They’ve been doing such a fantastic job adapting to online learning, and there’s been some incredibly creative responses to making work under such difficult circumstances. I get so much out of teaching there and seeing the development in students work throughout their journeys. I also have a few commissions to complete and it will be a great feeling to be able to pack and ship those off once restrictions ease….fingers crossed soon!