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![]()
Photographs: Demelza Lightfoot Photography
