2023 // thrown and hand burnished black onyx porcelain

‘a spacious body’ was created for the ‘Up Late’ exhibition series at the Holburne Museum in Bath.

This site-specific work was a direct, and very emotional response to the problematic financial heritage of the collection, the corrosive, ongoing impact of the slave trade and the direct involvement of my ancestor, abolitionist and founder of the British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society, Joseph Sturge. Over 40 miniature vessels were laboriously thrown and hand burnished in an act of devotional making, to be secreted away in the hidden, overlooked spaces in the corridor connecting the old building (housing Holburne’s personal collection), and the later added contemporary exhibition space (which at the time of install contained work by Glaswegian/Bagan artist Alberta Whittle). Through their making and placement, this body of bodies attempted to navigate a challenging landscape through a small but powerful act of remembrance and respect; holding space for those not named.