Kay Aplin’s body of work, Foraminifera, was created as part of The Ceramic House curatorial project Edges.
Foraminifera developed out of a residency at Interface, Connemara in Ireland where Kay investigated the geology and ecology of the coastline, bogs and mountains of Connemara collecting samples of moss, lichen, fossils and flora. She designed a series of forms which represent microscopic fossils, foraminifera, found in each grain of sand on the beaches of Dogs Bay in Connemara. She collaborated with Mary Immaculate College, Limerick, to observe the microscopic fossils through a powerful microscope.
The resulting work was created for exhibitions at Wexford Arts Centre and additional site-specific installations for Watts Gallery in 2024.
Edges, Watts Gallery
Watts Gallery Artists Village
Compton, Surrey
2024
Kay Aplin and Joseph Young undertook a residency took place at Watts Gallery & Artist Village in autumn 2023. Following on from their residency at Interface, the Watts residency provided opportunities for investigating the heritage and history of Watts and time for making, to create new work inspired by both sites. Here, Kay and Joseph explored a more personal take on encounters through partnership, both through the lens of their own relationship and the creation of The Ceramic House, their artist home, which was conceived and developed by Kay.
Kay created new pieces for the Nook, a reading space in Limnerslease where Mary used to read to George Fredrick Watts and Mary’s original masterpiece decorating the nook has been lost. Kay also created a piece for Mary’s Chapel, which was displayed within an alcove behind the wrought iron decoration.
Kay and Joseph, in partnership with Watts Gallery, curated the final exhibition of the entire 2 year-long Edges project, showcasing the work by three other pairs of ceramic and sound artists from Ireland and Estonia in Limnerslease. Full details on The Ceramic House page.
Edges, Wexford Arts Centre
Wexford, Ireland
2024
Curated by Kay Aplin & Joseph Young of The Ceramic House in partnership with Irish curator & sound artist Richard Carr, the Edges exhibition at Wexford Arts Centre explored ceramics and sound art practice through the work of artists from three nations at the western and eastern fringes of Europe – Ireland, UK and Estonia. The works were developed as part of artist residencies and international exchanges, creating collaborative encounters across the two disciplines.
The work Kay produced represented the forms of fossils she found in Dogs Bay and she developed a range of special effect glazes referring to the moss and lichen she collected on her wanderings around Connemara.
31st Contemporary Ceramics Art Competition, “Mediterraneo”Wexford Arts Centre
Grottaglie, Italy
2025
