Photo © Colin Davison

Artist Lucy Waters engages in an artistic practice focused on researching and exploring the socio-economic dimensions of the North East. Her creative process involves extracting text from conversations with family, friends, and strangers, shaping her work in response to these interactions.

Through entirely hand-painted ceramic pieces reminiscent of traditional blue tableware, Waters offers a playful yet skewed homage to conventionality.

These artworks often feature recurring motifs – depictions of her family home and the streets of the North East.

Text assumes a pivotal role within Waters’ creations, serving as a vehicle to reference, and highlight the absurdities inherent in socio-political language.

Extracted from various sources such as extended conversations, everyday phrases, or specific quotes and statistics, these textual elements infuse depth into her artwork.

While rooted in a specific Northern context, Waters’ exploration of these themes resonates universally, addressing the broader socio-political landscape we collectively navigate.

These ceramic creations serve as a poignant catalyst, urging viewers to pause and contemplate the multifaceted challenges embedded within the housing crisis, economic complexities, and the pervasive political rhetoric of our daily lives. Through her artwork, she sparks reflection on these pressing issues.

These ceramic creations serve as a poignant catalyst, urging viewers to pause and contemplate the multifaceted challenges embedded within the housing crisis, economic complexities, and the pervasive political rhetoric of our daily lives. Through her artwork, she sparks reflection on these pressing issues.

There’s a subtle irony in the use of crockery as a canvas, particularly in a time when basic needs such as food are crucial. It’s a stark contrast: using tableware as an artistic medium while acknowledging the rise of food banks in one of the wealthiest nations in the world. Lucy’s ceramics evoke this paradox, prompting contemplation on the disparity between the functional use of crockery and the stark reality of food insecurity.

In partnership with North Tyneside Art Studio, Globe would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has helped make this show possible.

Colin Davison Photography