Transformative Touch
13 June – 27 July
Aberystwyth Arts Centre Café
Ben Boswell has been photographing ceramicists for over 40 years. His archive includes over 200 makers. Since 2017 he has been documenting the International Ceramics Festival with a focus on the demonstrations, both on the main stage and in the marquees.
“When I started photographing potters, I thought my interest was in the makers themselves, a group of people for whom I have great affinity. What I realised, when I really looked at the pictures, was that my focus was firmly on the relationship between the potter and their material; capturing the way that hands or tools transform the clay from mud into an object of beauty and sophistication. All applied arts and crafts rely on process. The mastery of these processes, alongside the vision of the maker, produces the objects that I find most beautiful. For me there is no better illustration of this than the transformative touch of the potter or ceramicist on their clay.In visiting the International Ceramics Festival, we hope to be inspired by seeing skilled ceramicists doing things that excite us. For me as a photographer, the moment when skill and intention come together at a single point is where my excitement is at its most intense.’
