Lucy Tolan
Melbourne-based ceramicist, Lucy Tolan’s works occupy the space between architecture and landscape and bring an air of playfulness, dancing between the subtle and the conspicuous.
Words: Holly Terry I Photography: Shelley Horan, Janelle Low, Elise Scott & Ophelia Bakowski
‘My daydreams have always bled into my art practice, but it’s more acute now,’ says Lucy Tolan. Photo: Ophelia Bakowski
‘I feel truly blessed to be able to engage with a creative practice every day, it keeps me grounded and inquisitive,’ says Lucy Tolan. Photo: Janelle Low
Lucy’s Tolan’s ceramic objects embody a duality of soft and strong, often contrasting hand -built organic textures and form with bold colour and repetitive pattern. For the maker, this juxtaposition creates balance through tension and harmony.
With a heavy focus on contrast, Lucy accentuates the graphic qualities that colour brings to her work; most prominent when being used as a bold statement within a room full of neutrals and white. She enjoys how light can sit on intense tones such as blues and reds, creating heavy shadows.
‘The starkness of the objects can create a bold silhouette that appear as if it has been stamped into a scene. Colour brings me a lot of joy, I want my work to be playful and exciting,’ says Lucy.
Inspired by her both real and imagined places that float within her dreams, lucid dreamscapes and memory are a central theme within Lucy’s work, ‘My daydreams have always bled into my art practice, but it’s more acute now.’
A collector of objects and textures, materiality of practices such as landscape and architecture is also a source of inspiration, floating between physical objects or photographic imagery.
‘I like to contrast [inspiration] and create parallels between soft and hard, organic and artificial…through the juxtaposition of architectural forms with textile-like textures, converging them through accentuated joins - seams,’ says Lucy.
Tile Vessel (Red) – Residency by Lucy Tolan. Photo: Shelley Horan
‘I often get carried away by my thoughts and daydreams, so working with my hands helps ground me in my body,’ says Lucy Tolan. Photo: Ophelia Bakowski
“I’m inspired by my dreams and places that I visit within my dreams. Place is also an important theme within my practice. I collect objects and textures, through photos and physically - I like to contrast them and create parallels between soft and hard, organic and artificial.”
‘I like that ceramics isn’t immediately gratifying, so much of our daily routines are, so it’s lovely to participate in a practice that is slow, it gives me time to consider creative decisions and daydream about the vessels outcome throughout the week,’ says Lucy Tolan. Photo: Janelle Low
Tile Vessel (Red) by Lucy Tolan. Photo: Janelle Low
‘Colour brings me a lot of joy, I want my work to be playful and exciting,’ says Lucy Tolan. Photo: Elise Scott
‘I [am] drawn to the tactile nature of the process. I really enjoy working with my hands, it’s very mindful and meditative. I often get carried away by my thoughts and daydreams, so working with my hands helps ground me in my body.’
While undeniably conceptual, Lucy adopts a refreshingly intuitive process which she views as a sort of creative journey. The artist doesn’t begin with a fixed vision of an outcome, she starts with an abstract shape and builds upon it from that point, layer by layer.
‘The fluidity of the process is so exciting to me, and I make creative decisions on the way while following a process which I’ve developed over many years,’ she shares. Having explored not only the construction of the vessel but the deconstruction, too, Lucy says, ‘I’ve always understood this through the lens of the self and identity, and now understand it as inherently queer.’
2022 has certainly been a busy year for the emerging ceramicist, having already launched a 100+ object range with design studio, Jardan, as well as her first collaborative show Vivid Nostalgia with Yan Guo at Modern Times in April. To come, Tolan will be working on more pieces for Jardan and experimenting with some new ideas including exhibition proposals, and new work for her website.
