Phantasmal Gallery
Phantasmal Gallery
Victoria Ackers
Fish, Born to Die
37cm Tall
£600
Large, Decorative Urn. Earthenware with decorating slip and clear glaze.
A Little Bit About The Artist
A Statement From The Artist
I am a ceramic artist, interested in exploring dark and surreal narratives. Tied together by form, these Urns make up the Shadow's Grief series, which shows the development of my grief through the lense of the shadow in Jungian psychology. These dreams show the communication between my conscious and unconscious mind, demonstrating the hidden knowledge within ourselves.
The cows warn me of my own actions as I begin to go down the wrong path in life, this dream was foreshadowing my descent into isolation and turmoil. Drowning with no one to talk to and no safe place to call home, I cannot contain these new emotions which I birth as a fish out of water. My never-ending anxiety of losing my loved ones, slowly heal as the recurring lost snakes dreams end with accepting the loss of past loved ones and accepting the new.
Tell us about a dream you've had.​
I'm walking down a seemingly endless road between the cow fields, there is an ominous atmosphere as the sun sets, casting fiery crimson and orange across the sky. The cows all stare at me, with uncanny, forward facing eyes that indicate they know something that I do not. I keep walking, and as I do so the cows begin to moo, as they all stare at me. They continue to moo at me, as I continue walking the volume and intensity of their moos increase and it becomes overwhelming. their moos evolve into more panicked screams overlapping each other and filling up my head! Why are they staring at me? I can feel their desperation and I become overwhelmed with dread, I realise that they are trying to warn me of whatever destination this path leads, or whatever happened to them first.​
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​​​​What is your biggest influence on your practice?
My curiosity for the strange and unusual, surrealism, biology and psychology. I'm inspired by Juni ito manga, and other conceptual psychological horror such as 'I have no mouth, and I must scream!' by Harlan Ellison.
I have had a lot of strange and horrifying dreams, that although are scary while I'm in them, once I am awake I am purely fascinated by them. Some dreams I have had in the back of my mind for years, creating art gives me satisfaction and closure, but also the process of converting the dreams into art has caused me to look at the dreams with a different perspective and realise some of the meanings behind these dreams.
My recent work being a series of urns that depict my own dreams that demonstrate my everchanging feelings towards death and grief, they use my own personal symbolism to be able to communicate this internal emotional journey and development of character.
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