GUEST ARTIST: ZAHED TAJEDDIN

Last week we had the pleasure to host our Culford Social event with Zahed Tajeddin, one of our long-term resident member here at Culford Studios! 

Zahed is a Syrian artist, archeologist, conservator and researcher. He studied chemistry, fine arts, ceramics, archeology and has a PhD in Egyptian Faience from Westminster University. He has a special interest in history and ancient art, and his sculpture is influenced by ancient artefacts, archaeology and mythology. He has worked on many archaeological digs in the Middle East. With his scientific background and an incredible understanding of ancient materials, Zahed then works intuitively with clay, creating sculptural ceramic figures which he finishes with textures, and naturalistic patinas. Some have weathered surfaces, which he creates with oxides and the artful use of glazes. His art tells us a story about ancient and modern tales, weaving history, technology, archaeology and mythology all together.

Zahed talked us through his long professional career, starting with his Syrian origins and his body of work as a sculptor, establishing a recurring theme in his career: mythology. While giving a story to the piece, the mythological narrative is also subversive and makes us reflect on both the past and present time. 

Zahed then delved into his research on Egyptian faience. During his PhD at Westminster, Zahed not only re-discovered the science and technology behind this beautiful turquoise material, but he also re-discovered how to use it to make and sculpt new artefacts. While studying this material, Zahed created a whole body of work known as the 'Nu' Shabtis, exhibited at the Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology at the end of his thesis in 2014. The ‘U’ Shabtis in ancient Egypt are the small, mostly turquoise figurines that guarded the dead and served them in the afterlife. Zahed created instead the ‘Nu’ Shabtis, who have awoken in the 21st century and found there is no afterlife, no god of the underworld, and no labours to perform. They are ‘liberated’ and walk among us finding new things to do with their lives. He describes it, “Some follow our lifestyle and become happy with our activities, our shopping and consumption patterns, and all our gadgets and tools. Other Nu‐Shabtis remain restless and continue searching for freedom and liberty. Some find themselves becoming demonstrators and freedom fighters and joining us in mankind’s eternal quest for freedom. In these varying responses to our modern existence they reflect us all, and also the complications and contradictions of the world in which we currently operate”. Today you can find six of these ‘Nu’ Shabtis at the Victoria & Albert museum, in the Ceramics and Islamic Middle East Galleries.

Zahed finished his talk telling us about his recent exhibitions as well as his impressive large-scale private commissions created here at Culford Studios using our large kiln. 

We all felt very grateful to listen to Zahed, and inspired by his unique career path and point of view. So much knowledge, skills and wisdom! The evening continued with many questions and positive feedbacks from the members community. We felt like we've only scratched the surface and can dig a little more into Zahed's approach to ceramics  

(archeological pun intended). To be continued...

Thank you again Zahed, what a pleasure! 

Learn more about Zahed's work on his website: www.zahedtajeddin.com

And follow him on instagram: www.instagram.com/zahedtajeddin

GUEST ARTIST: BISILA NOHA

In May we invited one of our long-term resident artist, the brilliant Bisila Noha, to be our speaker for this new series of talks called "Culford Socials". It's a great opportunity for all our members, from newly joined beginners to experienced artists, to get together, share knowledge and form new creative bonds.

It was such a pleasure to hear Bisila's story and learn about her journey and travels with clay. We all felt super inspired and it cultivated a discussion around the importance of materiality connected to places, beyond-studio research and storytelling.

Bisila Noa is a Spanish-Equatoguinean London-based ceramic artist, researcher and writer.

Her work aims to challenge Western views on art and craft; to question what we understand as productive and worthy in capitalist societies; and to reflect upon the idea of home and oneness pulling from personal experiences in different pottery communities.

She is a storyteller with a particular interest in the contributions of women of colour to the history of art and craft. As such, her words are a bridge bringing the past - the forgotten, the ignored, the belittled - to the present; to us.

Her ceramic practice extends from wheel-thrown pieces with the distinctive addition of marbled slip decoration to create eye-catching abstract landscapes; to sculptural pieces mixing throwing, coiling and carving which connect her to her roots, the makers that precede her and the past.

With a background in Translation and International Relations, Bisila is a passionate feminist activist leading the London LGBTQ+ Community Centre and co - directing the arts and activism organisation Lon-art Creative; she is also part of the Steering Committee at Design Can.

You can learn more about Bisila's work on her website: https://www.bisilanoha.co.uk/

Thank you again Bisila!

GUEST ARTIST: TAÏR ALMOR

This month we were super excited to host our first guest speaker in a new series of events at Culford Studios which are aiming to bring together our ceramics community, encourage thoughtful conversation and skill sharing. This month we had Taïr Almor join us, a multidisciplinary practitioner, delving into ceramics, art, design, academia, and research. Her work focuses on merging traditional crafts with modern technology and industrial methods, while also examining the relationship between design and socio-political, environmental, and economic influences. She looks in to how these factors contribute to the formation of societies and communities, creating a cohesive narrative within her practice. 

She gave a wonderful talk on on 4th of April to our members, going through her journey with clay and industrial design, academic, personal and professional projects, followed by a Q & A session. 

A few days later she joined us again for a specialist workshop introducing one of her personal favourite techniques: sprig moulding or bisque fired press moulding. She took our members through the origins and evolutions of press moulding technique, followed by practical demonstrations of and everyone applied this new technique to their own ceramic creations. 

This was an inspiring week at the studio - Thank you so much Taïr and everyone who took part! We are really excited for the next month - news on this to be released soon. 

You can learn more about Taïr and her work at her website: https://www.tairalmor.com/