Ceramic Review
183 May/June 2000
Roger Billcliffe Gallery (2000)
Glasgow : January 29 - February 22
There is a dialogue between delicacy and solidity in the work of lisa Ellul. Her bowl forms are constructed from layers of finely rolled tubes or cones of paper-thin clay - delicate and fragile. These are organised in a structured formation building the thickness of the vessel wall. The bowls with their multi-layers hold a solid, weighted volume. this method of consruction creates an intricate texture and articulation of surface, which is emphasised by the soft wash of colouring oxides.
The solidity and fragility conversation within the forms is highlighted in the work where the tubular units are pierced and the holes give an insight into the depth and volume of the wall of the form whilst revealing it's fine strata.
Ellul has required an effective making technique that could be exploited and manipulated to evolve limitless variations on this theme.
The exhibition was placed solely in the shelved window area of the gallery. This seemed an unsympathetic way of displaying an exhibtion of ceramics.
Although appearing inviting and providing an attractive advertisement for the exhibtion, it gives only a two-dimensional impression - within the gallery, ranked on glass shelves and - outside, through the glass. At both points of observation the viewer is obstructed and the possibilities of grouping and relationships between forms frustrated. Ellul's decorative vessels do demand an intimate fascination and examination of their intricate formation and surface qualities.
Sarah Jane Selwood