‘Vessel – Permeable Subject’ @ Hill of Content Bookshop

As I’m sure most readers have, I’ve been watching the social media of Radiant Pavilion ‘central’ and individual artists as the event approached. I was anticipating many of the shows, including wanting to see the objects of Melissa Cameron and Jill Hermans in ‘Vessel – Permeable Subject‘ in the window at Hill of Content Bookshop.

I especially like the connection of the materials, significantly being paper (a material I love), with their chosen site (a bookshop is full of paper). Fabulous thinking.

installation

Exhibition media: “[This] is an installation of contemporary objects and jewellery in paper and metal. Artists Melissa Cameron and Jill Hermans will explore the symbolic meanings of the term vessel through the creation of permeable objects.
Through sharing thoughts, drawings and objects, a grouping of distinctive yet interrelated artworks will emerge, themselves creating an intimate meditation on the formal contrasts and the fluid connections between the artists, their practices and the unique installation space, the Hill of Content Bookshop.”

I don’t know why it still happens, but I can sometimes be surprised by scale – how I imagine pieces from images is totally wrong! To be fair, Jill’s objects are of various sizes, but (for no real reason) I didn’t expect how large some would be.

detail

I fell a little bit in love with Jill’s pieces, especially the smallest ones … the little crucible shape reminding me of the torment and joy of melting metal. I may need to ask one to come home with me.

I must offer my sincere apologies to Melissa – it seems that I failed to capture one decent image of her works (if they weren’t out of focus they had my face in the window reflection; no-one wants that). I’m so sorry. It is solely my fault in camera operation; after visiting a bzillion exhibitions I was totally off my game.

Please be sure you all go to Melissa’s blog to see her objects, made with such care and empathy with the materials. There is so much to process, with the paper being made from military uniforms (‘combat paper‘) used to create forms that remind me of artillery casings … it’s almost heartbreaking to make connections to current world events (I feel a bit oversensitive to the news at the moment).

It’s probably obvious, I was taken with this exhibition … the subversion and twisting of the vessel, which should be able to hold something, into an object through which the contents will fall or seep.

‘Vessel – Permeable Subject‘ is in the window of Hill of Contents bookshop until 15th September 2015.