Craft Emergency Preview

Together with Aspex, we’d like to present Craft Emergency 2016; a biennial open submission group exhibition featuring recent work in diverse media by eleven makers.

Craft Emergency aims to champion contemporary craft by emerging makers from across the UK and beyond, increasing exposure for their work, and encouraging further professional development opportunities.

Earlier this year we launched an international open-call. Eleven makers were selected for inclusion in the show by a panel of judges including: Annabelle Campbell, Head of Exhibitions and Collections, Crafts Council; Lynne Dick, Director, Making Space; Thomas Appleton, letter-carver and stonemason and Joanne Bushnell, Director, Aspex.

From the shortlist of makers included in the exhibition, one will be selected to receive the prize of a solo presentation of new work at Aspex gallery in 2018.

Previous winners have included letter-carver and stonemason Thomas Appleton and ceramicist Malene Hartmann Rasmussen, whose show ‘Waldeinsamkeit’ previewed in early 2016.

Director of Aspex, Joanne Bushnell said: “We are delighted to be presenting the group Craft Emergency show in the gallery’s Main Space for the first time. We were really impressed by the range and quality of work submitted and are thrilled that a number of the submissions came from across the South of England. This is testament to the thriving arts community that has developed right along the South Coast.”

Director of Making Space, Lynne Dick said: “Craft Emergency is developing to become a significant event in the craft exhibition calendar for emerging creative talent.   The inventive use of materials and ideas highlights the important role craft and making plays in our every day lives.”

Craft Emergency previews on Thursday 24 November from 6pm-8pm at Aspex Gallery. You can find more information on the event here.

Left to right: Jack Puzey, Tessa Eastman and Peter Ashley Jackson

Meet the 2016 Craft Emergency Makers:

Jacky Puzey: Detailed embroidery inspired by the juxtaposition of nature and new urban environments, constructed out of fur, feathers, tweed and organza.

Ben Branagan: A collection of ambiguous artefacts formed out of paper pulp from abandoned books. Inspired by traditional methods of storing cultural knowledge.

Carol Hunt: Delicate gold and sterling silver jewellery, responding to the concept of memory. Hunt believes that jewellery becomes a symbol of people and places.

Hannah Robson: Woven metallic structures, drawing from natural forms such as spider webs and seashells.

Helen Snell: Mixed media sculptures constructed from paper, steel fabric and plastic, exploring the relationship between modern technology and traditional craft.

Jessie White: An exploration of human expectation and perception, experimenting with traditional materials such as leather and wood to create unique sculptures.

Kate Haywood: Tactile ceramics establishing a non-verbal dialogue about ritual, ceremony and adornment.

Peter-Ashley Jackson: A visual interpretation of traditional literature, such as Ulysses, through detailed and deconstructed ceramic structures.

Sarah Brown: Brown documents interaction between people and their environment using delicate glass drawings, enabling the viewer to uniquely perceive a location.

Sue Paraskeva: Dramatic porcelain vessels referencing the human condition through growth, conflict and mortality.

Tessa Eastman: Eastman explores the contrast between symmetry and disorder through “microscopic organisms” formed from clay.