1. EMILY SIDDELL, Small Shell Necklace (2011) slip cast ceramic, size on wall (v x h x d): 820 x 170 x 45 mm
1. DETAIL VIEW EMILY SIDDELL, Small Shell Necklace (2011)
2. EMILY SIDDELL, Small Shell Lei (2011) slip cast ceramic & fused glass, size on wall (v x h x d): 780 x 250 x 120 mm
DETAIL VIEW EMILY SIDDELL, Small Shell Lei (2011)
3. EMILY SIDDELL, Medium Shell Lei (2011) slip cast ceramic & fused glass, size on wall (v x h x d): 880 x 240 x 120 mm
4. EMILY SIDDELL, Large Shell Necklace (2011)
slip cast ceramic & hand-crocheted stainless steel wire, size on wall (v x h x d): 740 x 200 x 70 mm
4. DETAIL VIEW EMILY SIDDELL, Large Shell Necklace (2011)
5. EMILY SIDDELL, Large Shell Lei (2011) slip cast ceramic & fused glass, size on wall (v x h x d): 890 x 340 x 130 mm
6. EMILY SIDDELL, Anemones (2011) 15 glass flowers; fused glass, cast bronze, installation (v x h x d): 900 x 1000 x 65
7. EMILY SIDDELL, Mussel Shell Kete (2011)
slip cast ceramic & hand-crocheted stainless steel wire, size (v x h x d): 280 x 220 x 130 mm
7. DETAIL VIEW EMILY SIDDELL, Mussel Shell Kete (2011)
DETAIL VIEW EMILY SIDDELL, Shell Kete (2011)
8. EMILY SIDDELL, Shell Kete (2011)
slip cast ceramic & hand-crocheted stainless steel wire, size (v x h x d): 265 x 150 x 75 mm
9. EMILY SIDDELL, Small Feather Kete (2011)
slip cast ceramic & hand-crocheted stainless steel wire, size (v x h x d): 255 x 190 x 120 mm
9. DETAIL VIEW EMILY SIDDELL, Small Feather Kete (2011)
10. EMILY SIDDELL, Medium Feather Kete (2011)
slip cast ceramic & hand-crocheted stainless steel wire, size (v x h x d): 310 x 210 x 80 mm
11. EMILY SIDDELL, Large Feather Kete (2011)
slip cast ceramic & hand-crocheted stainless steel wire, size (v x h x d): 275 x 235 x 170 mm
DETAIL VIEW
SIDDELL, Large Feather Kete (2011)
Drift, Emily Siddell’s first solo exhibition at milford galleries queenstown, sees the artist revisiting the original inspiration of her practice – the New Zealand coastline. Borrowing symbols and elements from this Siddell expertly combines (the yielding and delicate qualities of) porcelain and glass to assemble intricate sculptural works.
These works are informed by what the tide reveals and delivers - a sand-worn shell, a skeletal leaf, sun bleached driftwood, a discarded feather, salt crystals, a pebble worn smooth. “I am attracted to the matt white shells and bones that have been tumbled into drifts by the tide. The random patterns they create against the glistening black sand appear as gifts from the glasslike waves. The tiny, intricate jewels of life nestled in rock pools have held my fascination since childhood. I have always been inspired by the majestic beauty in the tiny details rather than the grand landscape and this influence is reflected in the objects I create”.1
Fundamental to Siddell’s practice is repetition and pattern, sourced in and from nature. She assembles objects together and in so doing establishes a larger unity, a greater whole. Added to this, when displayed, is contrast, the rhythms of repeated pattern and the pivotal role shadow comes to perform.
There is a remarkable sense of spontaneous movement - as light shifts shadows twist and merge, glass glistens like captured liquid hinting at its very material qualities. Articulated forms appear as if organic (alive) and resonate in response to a gentle touch.
Cultural dynamics also deeply inform her work – the finely crocheted wire kete explicitly reference function and use whilst also elaborating this with the addition of embellishment and motif: graduating tiers of porcelain shells and feathers. The lei form so recognizably Polynesian in character has become central to Siddell’s artistic language and transmuted to elaborate necklaces of tightly gathered porcelain shells, each cupping the next.
Dialogues of growth and abundance emerge in the Anemone works. In these glass fronds reach up as if being moved about.
Forms innocent in manner belie the strong character of Siddell’s work. The contrast of juxtaposed materials – smooth and textured, opaque and clear, hard and fragile – generates tension and elicits a tactile response. Familiar constructs and motifs evoke analogy and recollections - “the stories they tell about our lives, the memento of a time or place or person”.2
Siddell’s ability to simplify and thus emphasise is evident and wonderfully delivered in this significant exhibition. Using the traditional domestic disciplines of crochet, weaving and appliqué she delivers works that have a wonderful sense of balance and tone, and which are also joyous and triumphant. Her artistic dexterity is undeniable and her unique language fully formed.
1. Artist statement 2011
2. Artist statement 2008
EMILY SIDDELL
b. 1971, lives Auckland
EDUCATION
1999 Bachelor of Design (Sculpture), UNITEC, Auckland
1992 Craft and Design cert/dip, Carrington Polytechnic, Auckland
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
201 1 Drift, milford galleries queenstown
2010 I Love You More, FHE Galleries, Auckland
2008 Inflorescence, FHE Galleries, Auckland
2004 Ariel, G2 Gallery, Auckland Daisy, Avid, Wellington
2003 Garland, G2 Gallery, Auckland
2002 Fall, G2 Gallery, Auckland
2001 Carry, Gallery VC, Sydney Pink, Avid, Wellington
2000 Semblances, FHE Galleries, Auckland
1994 The Washing of Ten Tides, The Glass Gallery, Auckland
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2010 Puti Puti, Hastings City Art Gallery, Hastings Return To Beauty, FHE Galleries, Auckland
The Earl Street Journal., milford galleries queestown Solstice, Avid, Wellington
2009 Glass 09 , milford galleries queenstown
Portage Ceramic Awards, Lopdell House Gallery, Auckland
Let’s Go Out There and do the Poem, FHE Galleries, Auckland
Ahakoa He Iti, Native Agent, Auckland
2008 Glass Invitational NZ, Touring exhibition Canterbury Museum, Christchurch; Milford Galleries Dunedin; Lopdell House, Auckland
Sum of the Parts, Masterworks, Auckland
Portage Ceramic Awards, Lopdell House Gallery, Auckland Amazing Lace, Pataka, Porirua
2007 Glass invitational, Avid, Wellington
Under Tamahunga , The Mahurangi Group, Mahurangi Reflect, Masterworks, Auckland Glass, Avid, Wellington
2006 Her Majesty’s Pleasure (Kuinitunga), Objectspace, Auckland III, FHE Galleries, Auckland
2005 Glass Invitational NZ, Milford Galleries Dunedin
2004 Crochet , Anna Bibby Gallery, Auckland
2003
Fibre and Fairy Lights, Dowse Art Museum, Lower Hutt
Glass Invitational NZ, Milford Galleries,Dunedin; Pataka, Porirua; Rotorua Museum
The Bullseye Project, NZ Glass Jewellery; The Royal Jewellery Studio, Auckland Kete, G2, FHE Galleries, Auckland
2002 O’Lei, Pataka, Porirua; Te Tuhi Gallery, Pakaranga; Lopdell House Gallery, Titirangi Southern Lights, Avid, Wellington
Homestay, Indicator Studio at Eon Design Centre, Auckland
2001 The Cast, Lopdell House Gallery, Titirangi; Sargent Gallery, Wanganui Pacfic Rim- Te Pae o Te Moananui a kiwi, Medallion Group Show, McPherson Gallery
Kete, G2, FHE Galleries, Auckland
Autumn Exhibition, FHE Galleries, Auckland
2000 Autumn Exhibition, FHE Galleries, Auckland
Kiln Glass 2000 , Avid, Wellington
Risk, Transformative Practices, Suter Gallery, Nelson; Dunedin Public Art Gallery
Emily Siddell 2011 CV milford Galleries queenstown www.milfordgalleries.co.nz
1999 Taonga Mauri, Artstation, Auckland
Autumn, Winter, Spring, Summer Exhibitions, FHE Galleries, Auckland
1998 New NZ Glass, Glass Artists’ Gallery, Sydney
Autumn, Winter, Spring, Summer Exhibitions, FHE Galleries, Auckland
1997 Woven Path Touring Exhibition, Bathouse Museum, Rotorua; Dowse Art Museum, Lower Hutt; Gisborne Museum
New Auckland Glass, Fisher Gallery, Auckland
Summer Exhibition, FHE Galleries, Auckland
1996 Woven Path Touring Exhibition, Nijmeegs Volkenkundig Museum, Netherlands; Southland Museum and Art Gallery, Invercargill
NZ Kiln Glass, Avid, Wellington
Festival Jewels, Festival of the Arts, Wellington
1995 H2O, Dowse Art Museum, Lower Hutt
Other Shoes to Try, Masterworks, Auckland
Glass Arts, Masterworks, Auckland
1994 Kiln Glass, Masterworks, Auckland
1993 From Liquid Darkness, Dunedin Public Art Gallery
Kiln Glass, Masterworks, Auckland
Recent Auckland Glass, Fisher Gallery, Auckland
1992 Christmas Show, Chiaroscuro, Auckland
1991 Ceramic and Glass, Pumphouse, Auckland
1990 Cover to Cover, Outreach, Auckland
SELECTED AWARDS
2009 Portage Ceramic Awards, Merit Award
1996 Royal Easter Show, Glass Merit Award
1990 Mount Eden, Young Artist Award
COLLECTIONS
Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
Dowse Art Museum
Auckland War Memorial Museum
BIBLIOGRAPHY
2008 Lloyd, Bronwyn, Inflorescence (catalogue), FHE Galleries, Auckland
2004 Dubbleu, Jae, ‘Strung Up On Glass’, BMW Magazine, Summer 2004
Daly-Peoples, John, ‘A Material Girl’, Art News, Autumn 2004
2001 Pacific Rim – Te Pae o Te Moananui a Kiwa, Cliff McPherson Gallery, Auckland
2000 Thompson, Kelly, Leoni Schmidt & Birdie Lonie, Risk, Transformative Practices (catalogue), The Suter, te Arai o Whakatu, Nelson, New Zealand,
1998 Schamroth, Helen, 100 New Zealand Craft Artists, Godwit, Auckland
