Roseanne Connolly

Using ceramics and other materials such as bronze and wax, I make collections of objects exploring the representation of birds. I have always made work that is inspired by the natural world, but have come to fixate on birds because of their otherworldly nature, their beautiful, lustrous plumage, their strange claws and remarkable beaks.

I have an enduring fascination with the museum, systems of display and how this can influence and enhance how the viewer experiences objects.

I blur the divide between the perception of what is real and fake, co-opting traditional museum taxonomy and manipulating it. Constructing assemblages of objects, I create a spatial narrative, incorporating different materials, such as wax and bronze, to add a new facet to the ceramic, undercutting it’s presupposed fragility, and giving it a different edge.

The idea of the fragment permeates my work, even in the making process, where I make individual feathers that I pre-fire, before incorporating them into subsequent sculptures. I approach my work with an almost irreverent slant, creating individual fragments that, when displayed together, create something new. Sharper details concentrate the eye amidst a flurry of feathers, tying everything together.