Hyosun Kim & Helen Doherty: An Exhibition Of Two Residencies
Online: 3 - 30 October 2022

The Leach Pottery presents an online selling exhibition showcasing works by its two Leach 100 International Open Call Residency Artists: Hyosun Kim (South Korea) and Helen Doherty (South Africa). Both artists undertook the residencies to explore a new body of work, to develop aspects of their practice, and to creatively engage with the Leach Pottery’s cultural legacy. A selection of these unique pieces, having been exhibited in the Leach Pottery’s Museum, are now available online.

Dr Hyosun Kim has, for over 10 years, been concerned with the moon jar as a conceptual object – often embracing more risk in the object making. During her Leach Pottery residency, which concluded in November 2021, Hyosun made a range of forms inspired by Korean traditions and the experience of working in St Ives.

Hyosun’s work focuses on three distinct bodies of moon jar, with the Glass Moon Jar series exploring the effects of mixing glass with porcelain to create different colours in the clay. The Buncheong Moon Jars draw on the Korean Buncheong tradition where clays and glazes are typically less processed and refined, and the pots often less regular. In these pots, Hyosun applied slip (liquid clay) using the methods of Guiyal (coarse brush work) and Deombeong (dipping). The Moon Jars of Cornwall use raw materials from the South West, which are combined with the clay, to create unanticipated surfaces and movement in the clay.

Helen Doherty’s residency culminated in ‘Encountering St Ives’ – a body of work which showed in the Leach Pottery’s Museum in August – September 2022. Driven by the question, ‘What is St Ives?’, Helen’s artistic exploration was informed by the daily practice of walking, drawing and talking to locals: including dog walkers, street cleaners and priests. Observations, drawn from the countryside, town, and its inhabitants, resulted in a multifaceted and shifting portrait of St Ives in the summer of 2022 – an essence of the town which is inherently temporary.

The exhibition includes a series of hand-built double and triple gourd vases each painted or finished in relief with the narratives that have emerged from Helen’s immersive experience of living in St Ives. They are a celebration of beauty and variety encountered: a song to St Ives in clay.

With funding from Arts Council England, the Garfield Weston Foundation, and Cornwall Council, the Leach Pottery offered dedicated Talent Development opportunities as part of its Leach 100 celebrations. This included open call international residencies, and a number of artistic commissions, to foster creativity and professional development.