Artist Interview: Emily Jefferis

Emily Jefferis is our featured artist for our March Digital Exhibition Program. Emily is a London based artist who works in a shared studio to create tactile otherworldly like sculptures she does this to exploring concepts of the subconscious. she also has lots of influences from the surrealist movement and ecological literature. We asked Emily some questions to probe deeper to her practice and the concepts that lay beneath the art its self.

In your artist statement, you say you are interested in your subconscious mind. Would you say that most of your practice is some kind of “Automatic sculpting” or do you go in with an initial idea when creating?

"I definitely begin making with an initial idea of the form that I wish to create, gaining inspiration for this form through visual research and drawing. I also make sure to think about how actions, feelings or emotions that I wish to embody within the work can be portrayed within the form. That said, once I begin to make often the drawing I have made will remain closed within my sketchbook and I let the clay, my hands and my body take over the process. I am lead by the material and the physical act of building with clay. Often the form will take another course to what I had initially planned as a result of the making process and I find this exciting. I am consciously aware of the material and I think subconsciously aware of the actions, feelings and emotions that I wish to embody and this comes out through the manner in which I use my hands. I’m interested in tacit and bodily knowledge in relation to making. Discovery."

In your practice you predominantly use clay and in your statement, you said: “Echoes of my touch remain embedded in the work, with my entire body involved in the shaping, and forming and moulding”. Do you see these works as an extension of self?

"Yes very much so. When I get pieces returned to me from exhibitions after not having been with them for months I feel an incredible connection to them, and cannot help to touch and caress them.  It’s perhaps rather odd to be so attached to an inanimate object but I think it is precisely because they do feel as if they are extensions of myself, and maybe it’s impossible for them to not be after I have poured so much of my time, touch, emotion and care into them."

Ceramics is a very historic practice. Why do you think it's important to carry on these practices on in these modern times?

"Human beings didn’t evolve to live in a world which is so disconnected from the physical act of touch and making. I think working with ceramics is particularly poignant due to its slow nature and tactile qualities. Our lives nowadays are so fast paced and since ceramics really cannot be rushed ceramics gives important time for reflection and the physical act of slowing down. I think there’s also value in continuing practices so that they are not lost and are kept alive for future generations to enjoy. I think this action of partaking in a craft which stretches back to the dawn of civilisation provides a real sense of connection and a common humanity. In a less and less spiritual world it also seems to bring a strong sense of purpose. I’m interested in Richard Sennet’s idea of craft producing a society of makers not consumers, and I think this is particularly relevant now, as we are in the midst of ecological disaster caused in part by rampant consumerism."

Who or what are the biggest Influences in your practice? Such as Artist, Films or Literature?

"I think two of my tutors at The RCA (Felicity Ayleiff and Annie Cattrell) had and continue to have a strong influence on my work. Annie helped me to see the poetic qualities present in the material whilst Liz gave me the confidence to push the scale of my ceramics. I am constantly inspired by my fellow RCA graduates with whom I share our studio, and seeing their surfaces and forms on a daily basis must definitely influence my work. I enjoy drawing upon a wide range of other influences but it’s difficult say what the biggest influences are. I find living in London makes this difficult as I seem to be always rushing around from one thing to the next and being constantly stimulated. Recently I saw Doretha Tanning’s work at Tate Modern and was blown away. I’m now looking forward to bringing elements of her paintings into my 3-dimensional forms. Often I look to other ceramic artists to see the possibilities of the material and some of my favourite ceramic artists are Betty Woodman, Nao Matsunaga, Ken Price and Gitte Jungersen.

In terms of literature books about ecology have definitely influenced my practice. A couple that I keep going back to are Arts of Living on a Damaged Planet: Ghosts and Monsters of the Anthropocene edited by Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing (Editor), Heather Anne Swanson (Editor), Elaine Gan (Editor), Nils Bubandt (Editor) and The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben. I’ve also been influenced by the writing of Rebecca Solnitt and Robert Mc Farlane, particularly in terms of thinking about being within the landscape. Recently I’ve started reading some Science Fiction and I’m interested in these worlds which are simultaneously familiar and alien. "

How do you as an artist stay in touch with your local arts community?

"I share a studio with friends who are also ceramic artists and I often attend private views of exhibitions. I also teach ceramics and see this work as an extension of my art practice. I’m currently working with children at The Victoria and Albert Museum and Camden Arts Centre. I really enjoy fostering a sense of community through collective making."

Are there any art trends or movements that you directly follow?

"I’m interested in The Surrealists and their exploration of the unconscious and rejection of conventional artistic values. I’m also interested in the current popularity of ceramics and how/why this has come about. Generally I am an inquisitive person and so I am always up for seeing any art. I like experiencing work which causes me to really feel, and to question myself, my values and my way of seeing the world."

If money and time were no object what would be your dream project to create?

"I would love to create larger works which viewers could walk through and be enveloped within on a mass scale. The works would be a kind of sculptural forest and perhaps be outside. I would be interested to explore sound and to have openings within the works through which these sounds would emerge. I would have this installation installed on a permanent basis and add to it over the years so it would continue to grow and change and develop."