#WeAreRydeArts - Sue Paraskeva
Smashing is a live performance piece that I’ve staged at the Ryde Arts, Belief and Grow exhibitions. The performances took place in a former Wesleyan Chapel now called The Depozitory. I use freshly turned porcelain vessels. They are all individual, perfect and unique. I then begin a process of dramatically altering each of the forms. The alteration is intuitive. Some vessels are smashed, others are struck. I repeat this process until I feel it is over. Then I examine the broken, damaged and fragmented pieces and reassemble them into groups.
“The experience of performing at Ryde Arts events has helped to build my confidence as a performance artist.
I have since gone on to perform Smashing at London Craft Week and the Saatchi gallery. ”
Each of the performances feels different. One was raw and unplanned the other seemed to be more consciously guided. There’s an energy that comes from the audience who are at once spellbound and shocked by the altering process. Together we bear witness to the transformation. The experience of performing at Ryde Arts events has helped to build my confidence as a performance artist.
I have since gone on to perform Smashing at London Craft Week and the Saatchi gallery. Two young musicians accompanied my performance. It’s great to provide opportunities for young creatives. I think it’s really positive the way Ryde Arts reach out and engage with young people. Opportunities like these help build new skills and boost self-confidence. I enjoy performing as it is liberating, there’s no expectation to keep any of the pieces, you are just free to follow your impulses. It’s also great to be in a local space, alongside the community and not a formal art gallery. The feedback informed me that people found the experience poignant and moving which, I feel, is at the essence of the piece.
About: Sue Paraskeva has an established studio practice, specialising in hand-thrown, reduction fired porcelain. At the core of production is a range of tableware using recycled mixed clays. Sue also produces conceptual pieces for the public sector and exhibitions. This work is increasingly installation-based and focussed on conscious and accidental alteration as well as the physical connection between forms. Sue is not afraid to explore painful subjects such as domestic abuse and violence creating a visual narrative in altered forms.
Forthcoming exhibitions: Realising Form, a dialogue between six makers, Make Hauser & Wirth, Somerset 2020
Contact: sueparaskeva@gmail.com web: sueparaskeva.co.uk Insta: @sueparaskeva
