Nonadic Isolator, was an installation I made that was selected to be part of the SaltSpace Gallery’s Members Show, “More Space for the People” in September 2021 at SaltSpace Gallery in Glasgow. The theme for the members show was open to interpretation and responses, being in the year of COP26 and Glasgow Doors Open Days Festival the theme was sustainable cities and communities, members were encouraged to consider the ambitions for COP26 and beyond in their submissions.

My work featured along with over 50 other talented artists, who submitted works ranging from paintings, illustrations, and photography to installations, video pieces, and sculpture. The show had an opening night on Thursday 16th September from 6pm - 9pm, after which it was open on a daily basis until the 26th September.

Nonadic Isolator is one of a series of three decorative vases I’ve made that retell the events of my life, loosely, from the summer of 2018 to summer of 2019. Including the good and the bad, with no punches pulled, I wanted to give an unflinching view of all the major events that happened in the space of a year through the use of allegory. The vase was inspired by a lot of things outside of my own experiences, but was in large part inspired by the work of Grayson Perry, Akiko Hirai, and Astrid Terrazas (@killyridols on Instagram), and also the countless fairy tales told throughout Scotland which I read in a book that accompanies these stories with exquisite illustrations by Morris Meredith Williams.

I felt Nonadic Isolator fit the theme of the SaltSpace Members Show in that the vase is made entirely from materials and ingredients found at home. It is roughly 50% toilet paper, with the rest of the vase being made using flour, baby oil, PVA glue, and wall/joint filler, all of which mixes to create papier-mâché clay. It was cheap and difficult to work with at times but, at least in my opinion, results in a rather effective looking end product.

Nonadic Isolator - installation, decorative papier-mâché clay vase, with charcoal, ash, and tin foil cut into the shape of retro/hotrod flames. Dimensions 650mm x 540mm x 500mm.

Photographs taken by myself and my wonderful mum.