Q&A with Remon Jephcott
Remon Jephcott is one of the galleries inaugural artists and her ceramics have been a feature of the gallery since 2015. Her works are informed by feminality and vanitas, a reminder of the fragility and impermanence of life. I wanted to explore more about Remon and her world and share it with you.
Tell us more about your creative journey?
When I started my training as a creative artist, I was interested in mixed media, using materials that would convey meaning to work. Still, I fell in love with the amazing effects of fire and earth.
You have been a practising ceramicist for over ten years now. How have you seen your work evolve in that time?
Honing in and narrowing down, getting more from less.
Can you describe a typical day in your studio?
Discovering the kilns offering - I'm always excited to get to my studio if the kiln's been on overnight. 😊
What advice would you have to other artists looking to make a career in ceramics?
With clay, you don't get the immediate results as you do with say, for example, painting, so patience is needed to achieve.
The figures and portraits that you include with your work are beautiful. How did the idea for them come about?
My work is about the feminine space. The interior setting of Berthe Morisot and Mary Cassatt has inspired me, expressing the sadness and frustration within their beautiful cage.
Do you listen to music while you work?
The radio is always on in my studio playing 6music. I like to hear classics and keep up to date with contemporary music and bands.
You include notions of fertility, death, and decay in your works. Can you tell us more about why these concepts fascinate you?
I'm interested in femininity rather than fertility—female sexuality and how the nature of women is exploited. I use symbolic referencing, rotten fruit for example, to convey this.
What does beauty mean to you?
Beauty, for me, is Nature, which is in a continuous cycle of change.
The colours and finishes you add to your work are notably intense. Can you tell us more about how you achieve them?
Layering oxides and glazes give the exciting effects that I'm looking for. I want to be amazed at the finish of a kiln glaze firing.
Is there a particular movement or artist that inspires you?
I love the poetic beauty of the Pre-Raphaelites and am attracted to the contrasting intense and subtle colours.
Ceramics aside, which other forms of art interest you?
Sculptural installation work using materials that suggest the nature of the concept the artist is trying to convey – for example, by artists Mono Hatoum, Eva Hesse and Helen Chadwick.
What do you want people to feel when they see your work?
I want to intrigue, to attract further interest, to have them look more carefully into the piece and question the meaning behind its making.
Can you share with us one of the happiest moments of your life?
I've never been happy.
Have you any new projects or ideas in the pipeline?
Can I squeeze more out of 'the apple'? Simplifying but adding more is my quest.
Is there a place or space that you find uplifting?
I live in a beautiful place and sitting on a craggy clifftop with the cold expanse of ocean before me, is exhilarating, blows away the cobwebs and leaves me refreshed. But my studio is my space which gives me the security to experiment and create.