KCR WINTER 24:25 Magazine FINAL 1 - Flipbook - Page 18
SELF-MADE at The Foundling
Museum
15 November 2024 – 1 June 2025
The Foundling Museum
40 Brunswick Square, London WC1N 1AZ
What is our true identity? Or do we have many? How do we make a sense of self? The Foundling Museum’s autumn exhibition, Self-Made, is a
group show re昀氀ecting on the complexities of identity and self-determination through the medium of ceramics. The creation of self-identity can be
a challenging yet profoundly empowering process. Our unique identities are in昀氀uenced by layers of history, memory and experience. Throughout
our lives, we continuously strive to take control of the narratives that shape us as we attempt to understand how we 昀椀t into the world. Encompassing lost, hidden, re-made or re-claimed identities, Self-Made reveals fresh connections with the enduring stories of identity, care and belonging at the heart of the Foundling Museum.
Featuring Rachel Kneebone, Matt J Smith, Renee So and a new commission by Phoebe Collings-James, this exhibition brings together work by
four artists who use clay in di昀昀erent ways to explore embodied narratives, the construction of self and the capacity for physical and emotional
transformation. Touching on class, gender, sexuality, cultural heritage and historical legacies, each piece represents an intimate interaction
between artist and material, moulded, cast and inscribed with new narratives and forms of expression.
The myriad ways in which identity is formed and reformed throughout our lives is mirrored in the shape-shifting properties of clay with its in昀椀nite possibilities for moulding, sculpting and metamorphosis. Clay is subject to many altered states, beginning as soft and pliable, often changing colour as well as texture when exposed to air, heat and force. In the hands of the maker, it retains a physical trace, preserving the imprint of
human touch. It can also be unpredictable. Identity is similarly in昀氀uenced by a combination of genetic, environmental and historical factors as
we adapt to our circumstances and become moulded by our experiences, in ways that cannot always be anticipated or controlled. Incorporating elements from ancient cultures, hidden histories, fractured memories and future possibilities, Self-Made creates an intimate conversation
between the past and the present, prompting us to consider the 昀氀uid nature of our own identity and the myriad factors and conditions that determine our sense of who we are and the multifaceted versions of ourselves we create.
www.foundlingmuseum.org.uk
Captions:
Matt Smith, Family Romance I, (Walt Whitman and Peter), 2024
Rachel Kneebone, Through a Glass I, 2023 Porcelain © Rachel Kneebone. Photo © White Cube (Ollie Hammick)
