Lesley Murray

River Dance, 2023

CLAY AND UNDERGLAZE
50 cm
Landscape..is not simply what we see, but a way of seeing.
– K.Taylor (2008)


‘River Dance’ captures the movement, rhythms, and ephemeral nature of the landscape, and explores the relationship between the landscape, identity, and memories of time and place.

The balanced silhouettes of ‘River Dance’, with their shadows marking time, are suspended in motion, capturing a transient moment, a contemplation, an imprint. The tartan motif is a visual reference to the overlay of time and events, which not only shape the physical landscape but inform our perceptions and memory of place. Viewed through a non-linear lens the landscape becomes an archive of topography, ecology, history, culture, and mythology, a repository of memory.

River Dance reflects my pursuit for capturing movement with clay and my interest in fragmentation, and freedom of form. My assemblages composed of handmade forms, can be rearranged to reflect changing perspectives and narratives.
Lesley Murray is a ceramic artist whose practice focuses on making hand built sculptural objects. Lesley started her artistic journey as a painter and after developing an affinity for clay through it’s tactile nature and versatility as a creative medium has concentrated her practice on making sculptural objects which embrace innovation and the strength and flexibility of clay. Lesley completed her Advanced Diploma in Ceramics at Northern Beaches Tafe in 2022. She has spent several years at Northern Beaches Tafe, consolidating her knowledge of ceramics practices, and, specifically with regard to construction techniques and the development and design of colourful surface treatments. Lesley has been selected as a finalist for a number of art exhibitions, most recently the Blacktown Art Prize 2023, and has been the recipient of several awards for both painting and ceramics.
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