Over time, the word "vessel" has acquired numerous definitions, likely due to its essential role in the development of humanity. On a practical level, vessels are ‘necessary for containing water, cooking, storing food, and more… Nearly all societies have made and used them; indeed, clay vessels, or their fragments, are among the principal types of archaeological data that give us empirical access to distant worlds of the past.’[1] The ‘vessel is often defined by its shape but, more importantly, by its function—by the presumption that it contains something’[2]. The twenty-two artists featured in this exhibition explore the myriad ways we consider and represent the vessel as a container: as a symbol of society, as a container of grief, joy, or pain, as a metaphor for the fragility of the human condition, and as a representation of diversity.

It is not surprising that the vessel has come to be used as a metaphor to describe society, reflecting the complex nature of how diverse human communities are held together. Just as a vessel contains its contents, society structures and contains human activity. The walls of a vessel can be seen as analogous to the laws, customs, and norms that define the boundaries of a society. Within these boundaries, individuals and groups interact, creating a cohesive whole. Ceramicist and draughtsperson Alexander Aitken, whose installation of ceramic vessels envelops the entrance of the exhibition, is concerned with the lost or unnoticed narratives we encounter in our environment and society, certainly considering the symbolism of each object as a vessel.

The diversity of vessels throughout history—from simple clay pots to ornate golden chalices—reflects the diversity of societies. Each vessel, with its unique shape, design, and function, can be seen as a representation of a different culture or social structure. The way a society designs and uses its vessels reveals much about its values, priorities, and way of life. Ceramicists Rebecca Elves, Emily Gibbard, and Elena Gileva explore this diversity through varied explorations of medium and form. Elves considers the way the landscape consumes us with three vessels, nestled in dust dried from the silt that connects the marshy islands of the Thames Estuary, their forms translating ancient ceremonies through the contemporary landscape: punctured with thirsty openings, calling to the wetlands. Gibbard’s ceramic practice reimagines vessels thrown on the potter’s wheel as biomorphic sculptural forms and abstract representations of the human body. A myriad of references underpins Gileva’s work, but the artist’s interest in Russian folklore is key to understanding her practice. Archetypal functional objects—pots, jars, pillars—are reworked until they take on new colours, shapes, and stories.

Though born in the 18th century, the Toby Jug is descended from a long line of anthropomorphic vessels from ancient times. Figural jugs over 4,000 years old have been discovered in Crete. Numerous examples of ancient jugs, cups, pots, and other vessels made in the likeness of humans and mythical beings have been unearthed in Greece, Italy, and other parts of the Roman Empire, including Britain. The first Toby creator is not conclusively known, but the vessel design became famous throughout the British Empire as a common pouring vessel and a collectable trinket. The two Toby Jugs presented in ‘VESSEL’ by Richard Slee reflect this fame and collectability. These sculptures are from a series of ceramics made by the artist in response to Mass Observation's 1937 Mantelpiece Reports. Mass Observation (MO) was a pioneering social research organization that aimed to document everyday life in 1930s Britain. Its first initiative, the Mantelpiece Directive, tasked its national panel of volunteers with sharing what was on their mantelpieces. The resulting reports demonstrated how the seemingly insignificant objects in our homes are, in fact, full of meaning and led the organization to conclude that we are what we live with.

Boo Saville, who here presents a painted depiction of a Toby Jug and a ceramic from her home, similarly reflects the everyday aspects of her life while extracting mimetic images from culture. Through his detailed still life paintings, John Stark depicts aspects of everyday life, and although the objects are not intended to be read as symbolic, themes such as presence, memento mori, and the transience of life are constantly addressed. For Celia Mora, however, the placement of objects is deliberate; vessels are juxtaposed with the human form as symbolic prompts that aid the artist in challenging normative ideas of masculinity, femininity, and the fragility of the human condition. The body is frequently described as a vessel for the soul, containing and shaping our experiences. In literature and philosophy, this metaphor extends to the idea of people as vessels of knowledge, emotion, and memory, contributing to the collective wisdom and experience of society.

Hynek Martinec’s practice is greatly concerned with the fragility of life and the metaphorical presentation of our mortality, often employing depictions of the human form and still life. The work included here appears to be a still life, but it depicts a scene from Martinec’s subconscious, from a dream. Since moving to London, much of Martinec’s practice has focused on capturing his dreams. As the artist has described: “Interestingly, when I came to London for the very first time in 2002… I was alone – so I was just learning the language and culture and meeting new people. And within a few weeks, I realised that for some reason I was able to remember my dreams better here than in the Czech Republic. That was quite shocking – I was wondering why. So I guess that in those first months when I was here, I was back in the Czech Republic in my dreams while in my normal life I was in London talking to people and being in the present. So I was already living in two different worlds, and I was always quite looking forward to going to sleep because I knew that my dreams would be about something from my childhood. Since then, I’ve known that I have to take more care of my dreams. I started slowly thinking about how to record my dreams and I developed a simple, quick language to do so.”

This interest in capturing dreams is reflected in glass by Louis Thompson, through his installation ‘Sigmund Freud’s Dreamcatching Apparatus C1910,’ which was inspired by Freud's writings and the artist’s interest in collections and archives. For Freud, ‘the task of dream interpretation is to unravel what the dream-work has woven,’ and Thompson’s installation appears to be a type of imaginative machinery, designed to interpret the unconscious thoughts we have when our mind is altered by sleep. Here, the vessels are a significant symbol, representing the way in which we struggle to contain the thoughts in our dreams upon waking. Haydn Albrow’s ceramic vessel and pipes which appear to burrow into the architecture of the building reflect the artists interrogation of the conscious and unconscious mind. Albrow’s work explores the ways we attempt to share our dreamed experiences and the difficulties we face in conveying their ephemeral sensations and sentiments. The vessel can also signify a desire to alter our state of being, and for Sophie Mei Birkin, this manifests in the artist’s concern with transformation and, in particular, how materials interact to create a psychophysical response. Much research has been undertaken into the psychophysics of alcohol consumption, and many artists are interested in the psychosocial effects of alcohol—how this liquid can impact our inhibitions. Vessels are an essential part of the ritual of consuming alcohol, and their depiction or inclusion in a composition has become charged with meaning throughout the history of art.

Vanessa Garwood’s recent work draws the viewer into the nightly rituals of a city, where its inhabitants are depicted in scenes of hedonistic abandon. Garwood is also concerned with the trials of existence, and the two ceramic wine glasses included in the exhibition reflect the transformative power this liquid can have on our personalities. Faye Eleanor Wood’s work acts as a love letter to the much-loved establishment of the British pub. For Woods, the pub embodies a sense of emotional liberation, where dancing, singing, and drunken revelry transcend the boundaries of time. It symbolizes the inner psyche—a space within spaces that delicately balances on the brink of both tragedy and joy. Woods' work leans into the chaotic and disastrous side of this revelry, with weeping characters, smashed vessels, and ominous color palettes. Likewise, Charlie Chesterman’s ‘Jar of Lies II’ hints at the destructive aftermath of an extended collaboration with a vessel. We are left to wonder why Elliot Walker’s wine glasses have been nailed to the wall—whether the artist is reflecting upon the damaging use of these vessels or celebrating their transformative powers.

For Kit Reynolds, the inclusion of vessels in his work hints at their devastatingly transformative power. A few months ago, these works might have hinted at celebration—perhaps they are singing sports fans—but after recent devastating events, there is an undeniably sinister undertone to the work. With this in mind, we are reminded of the vessel’s symbolism as a metaphor for society, indeed as a metaphor for the fragility of society. A vessel, while strong and functional, can also be fragile, prone to breaking if mishandled. This fragility is a powerful metaphor for the delicate balance within societies. Just as a crack in a vessel can lead to its destruction, so too can social divisions and misinformation. Chris Day, who creates highly personal works in glass and mixed media, intends for his work to discuss and investigate the treatment of Black people in Britain and the USA, with much of his research focusing on the history of the slave trade in the eighteenth century and the events leading up to and during the Civil Rights Movement.

Day’s ’Under the Influence’ series is created from hand-blown and sculpted glass with microbore copper pipe, copper wire, and rope. The title is a play on the idea of rum as strong alcohol and the ‘influence’ of the slave trade over contemporary society, to the extent that this barbaric practice was hardly questioned. The work also reminds us that slavery continues today, albeit in the shadows. As Day makes these pieces, he says, ‘I feel as though I’m putting all my anger, all my emotions into them, not only mentally, but physically.’ For Day, the vessel acts as a device in which to pour and contain his emotions, a theme that has recurred throughout the history of art. Likewise, Hester Finch pours her life experiences into her work in an attempt to contain them, exploring ideas of sex, power, violence, and the places where pleasure and disgust meet. ’Oh Boy’ considers a recent sexual partnership, and its demise; the swirling vessel an attempt to contain the relationship in the face of the artists reality. Meanwhile, in contrast, David Price’s work reflects the joyful abandon of releasing the container. Undeniably, we cannot have order without chaos.

Chaos plays an important role in the preservation of memories—our neural networks need stable patterns to access our memories, but ‘as memories fade over time, the brain patterns that represent them become more chaotic.’[3] The depiction of how our memories can be transformed over time has concerned artists and authors alike; indeed, Virginia Woolf described a memory as ‘lying in a grape and seeing through a film of semi-transparent yellow.’[4] This description motivated the work presented by Camilla Bliss, who is interested in how we navigate the world through alternate states of being. The characters Bliss presents act as deities or spirits that build a relationship between the world we know and ruptured states between consciousness or the unfamiliar. Bliss’s installation, which echoes a production line, speaks to the memory of the building we stand in, which, for almost a century, bottled lemonade and ginger beer in glass and ceramic vessels, remnants of which have been found throughout the building. James Devereux’s ‘Recycled Diodes’ employs recycled glass crafted from repurposed bottles and modern 3D printing techniques to contemplate the significance of preserving history and the enduring allure of nostalgic objects in a rapidly evolving world.

The concept of the vessel, both as a functional object and as a powerful metaphor, has deeply resonated across time, culture, and artistic expression. The artists in this exhibition explore and expand upon the vessel’s symbolic capacity to hold, preserve, and convey human experience—whether through the representation of societal structures, emotional states, or the fragility of existence. Through diverse mediums and perspectives, they reveal how vessels transcend their material forms, embodying the complex interplay of history, memory, and identity. This exhibition not only celebrates the vessel's enduring significance but also challenges us to reflect on the delicate balance within our own lives and societies, much like the vessels that hold our collective experiences.

[1] Brittenham, C. (Ed.). (2019). Vessels: The object as container. Oxford University Press.

[2] Ibid.

[3] Pereira-Obilinovic, U., Aljadeff, J., & Brunel, N. (2021). Forgetting leads to chaos in attractor networks.

[4] Gualtieri, E. (2000). Virginia Woolf’s Essays: Sketching the past. Palgrave MacMillan.