Rosanagh May is an emerging artist currently based in nipaluna/Hobart, lutruwita/Tasmania.
Utilising primarily white mid-fired clay and black underglaze, Rosanagh May’s practice has a very distinctive visual language, creating lyrical ceramic sculptures that combine elements of gothic fiction and surrealist humour. Forms seemingly shift between decorative, impractical and utilitarian, inviting the viewer to reimagine our expectations around the role of contemporary ceramics. Adorning every inch of May’s work is a bold combination of illustration and hand painted ornamentation. Reminiscent of tattooed skin, each piece appears animated and brimming with joy, yet still underpinned by a more serious poetic symbolism that comes with the commitment of body ink.
Song lyrics are also a defining feature of May’s work, with extracts of expressive verse wrapped around each piece. This stems from a personal obsession with music, but simultaneously helps to channel the emotional and personal connections that can only be found in song. As well as exhibiting the sheer joy of making and life’s small pleasures, May’s works also carries more serious undertones, reminding us of the importance of human connection. Underpinning May’s practice is a conscious aversion towards the traditions of ceramics, with works that embrace being eccentric and impractical. This is what makes them so fascinating, as well as being a timely reminder of a world that is increasingly unfamiliar.
Exhibitions
