In Praise of Ghosts

2022

These works are carved from plaster on the lathe, before being moulded and cast in a liquid porcelain. In the large platter form of In Praise of Ghosts 1.0 the spare (the excess clay wall around the pouring cavity of a slip mould) has been retained on the vessel after the mould has been drained leaving a fragile dripping edge. In the large platter of In Praise of Ghosts 1.1 as is traditional in the slip casting process, the spare has been removed and the edges smoothed; the forms it contains however retain the signs of having been formed from a liquid porcelain clay, their delicate deckled edges remaining intact.

In these works material frailties and capabilities become metaphors for our own human experience. Process becomes more evident. The activities and labours involved in their formation remain visible. At times abandoning the convention of smooth, tidy edges, Preece makes the decision to retain those parts that might traditionally be treated as waste. There is a revaluing taking place, a questioning of hierarchies, of what is considered waste and what worthy of presentation.