Steph Wallace
Steph Wallace — 'Void II' Sculptural Vessel, 2023
Holding the Void responds to this landscape, hollowed by centuries of gold extraction and forever altered both in its physical essence and cultural tapestry. Often challenging the concept of vessel, this collection of sculptural forms contain within only their own negative space, the void. These monolithic forms with expansive rim and abstract surfaces reference this hollowed earth and disrupted terrain in a contemplation of impermanence, erosion and decay.
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Steph Wallace is a ceramic artist working on Waddawurrung country, Ballarat. Steph's practice challenges established norms by combining traditional techniques with experimental approaches. Her sculptural work is created in a monochromatic palette of black clay with fine inlaid linework. Alongside clays dug directly from the landscape she decorates her forms with layers of slips, oxides and glazes. Through Steph's work she weaves narratives that reflect the complexities of cultural identity and the legacies of colonialism on the contemporary landscape. Her work serves as a platform for dialogue, encouraging reflection and understanding of diverse histories.
Wallace has been the recipient of the Finalist National Emerging Art Prize 2023 Finalist Klytie Pate Ceramics Prize 2023 Solo Exhibition Art Gallery of Ballarat (upcoming April 2024) and attended Edinburgh College of Art (2002), Foundation Studies in Fine Art - Leeds Arty University (1999).
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Atrium
25 January – 2 March'24
Created in a studio shaken daily by the explosions of contemporary gold mining, these works are an exploration of the land on which the artist resides, Wadawarrung Country, Ballarat.
Material: ceramic, glaze, polymer compound, metal leaf. Not watertight.
Dimensions: approx. 42cm x 26cm