with Joana Galego & James Owens
Wilder Gallery, London
2021
Wilder Gallery, London
2021
What I See I’ll Never Tell
In ancient times, shards of pottery were bestowed upon a traveller so that they might be recognised on their return. These fragments could then themselves be reunited in an act of symbállein – ‘to put together’. In absorbing the shards of stories contained within Joana Galego and James Owens’ works, iterations of ceramic vessels become a family of strange onlookers with their own tales to tell, their own glances to cast. The qualities of clay, redolent of earth itself and domesticity, here appear watchful – wrenched from the private sphere, adopting an uneasy sense of perpetual observation. These cavities, captured by fire at the point of imminent collapse, help cultivate a constellation of gazes within and between paintings, artefacts and visitors alike.
In ancient times, shards of pottery were bestowed upon a traveller so that they might be recognised on their return. These fragments could then themselves be reunited in an act of symbállein – ‘to put together’. In absorbing the shards of stories contained within Joana Galego and James Owens’ works, iterations of ceramic vessels become a family of strange onlookers with their own tales to tell, their own glances to cast. The qualities of clay, redolent of earth itself and domesticity, here appear watchful – wrenched from the private sphere, adopting an uneasy sense of perpetual observation. These cavities, captured by fire at the point of imminent collapse, help cultivate a constellation of gazes within and between paintings, artefacts and visitors alike.
Install shot. Paintings: Joana Galego![]()
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Photographs: Demelza Lightfoot Photography
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/ec40de5966df7db77156dc6c98c460f1711aabc2d2da507af4fdca51f08794d9/Wilder-install-shot-2.jpg)
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![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/56ee1bea3ed720f69ce103fb754f515d9458d5043a301807b366acae5c880583/Gullet.jpg)