Memento – to remember, to recall, to occur to the mind. An exhibition of research into traditional filato micro-mosaic techniques. Souvenirs remind us of a given time and place, they become treasured objects and embody a personal experience. They are imbued with the power to transport us to place that is both real and imagined. Micro-mosaics were popular souvenirs collected by travellers on the Grand Tour of Italy during the C18 / C19.
The exhibition Memento focuses on research into traditional filato micro-mosaic techniques and includes, explorative, contemporary wall mounted pieces, drawings and a small selection of previous work. It is arranged to demonstrate the depth of research, the shift in scale from architectural mosaic artworks to miniature hand-held pieces – macro to micro – and the shift in focus of the artist’s gaze from the urban to the natural environments we inhabit
The research was supported by the Inches Carr Creative Development Award 2022. It facilitated an extended period of research, experimentation and exploration with no specific outcome required and included the opportunity to work with a specialist mentor. Joanna worked with two nationally and internationally renowned artists Andrea Spencer (flamework) and Andrea Walsh (mould-making and casting in glass). Research took her to East Lothian, London, Northern Ireland, Ravenna, Italy and back to Edinburgh.
Noticing detail within the environments we inhabit has long been a part of Joanna’s work. Taking time to wander, immersed in the place, to be and to see (what is revealed), to absorb atmospheres and record personal responses are important aspects of her information gathering and creative process.
“I only went out for a walk, and finally concluded to stay out till sundown, for going out, I found, was really going in.” John Muir *
‘There is something that I find grounding about being immersed in nature, noticing nuanced changes as time, light and seasons pass. Being absorbed in looking, drawing and thinking – in a fluid, abstract way – I find things come in to vision and myself drawn in.
The rhythms of walking, a stride or a step, fast when the dog tracks a scent, more slowly when I pass a winter hedgerow, sheltering minute buds, deep in colour and full of promise. Then I stop, perhaps retrace my steps a little – something in particular has caught my eye and I peer in to take a closer look.
It is at this point that I may take out my sketchbook and try to capture something of the form, colours and marks. A five-minute sketch becomes a visual record of my response, in that light, in those weather conditions, on that particular day.’
Joanna Kessel
Thanks to Alice Bain of mote for embracing the research and two new series of wall sculptures – it was a pleasing resolution to mount the work using the historic holes within the shop plaster walls.
* John of the Mountains: The Unpublished Journals of John Muir, (1938), edited by Linnie Marsh Wolfe, (Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1938, republished 1979, page 439.
