An odyssey of adornment
03 - 10 April, 2025 | 17 Osborne Street, Newmarket
The Poi Room proudly presents the largest, most showstopping collection of Dawn's work to date.
Dawn has pushed her creative boundaries with Fragile Fantasies, producing colossal porcelain vases smothered in her signature blooms, masses of heavily adorned plates with pops of pink and a cornucopia of animal-based works dancing along the lines of kitsch and high art. Gold highlights appear everywhere. "A juxtaposition of cutesy kitchy-ness with a bit of curiosity and fun," these pieces are made to be shown, used and gifted - pretty bows in place for all time.
Scroll down for the story and a peek at the collection.
After ten years as a full-time ceramicist, Dawn returned to her sculptor roots with a study on the bare form of objects stripped of colour, transformed with handmade flowers and bows then detailed with real gold.
"Going back to sculpture was going back to my roots. Ten years ago, I completed a Self-Directed Master's in Design. I started my master's, got married, bought a house, had a baby, and somehow completed my degree throughout. Then, I wrote my thesis with a one-year-old."
Dawn's early work proved popular, so much so that for several years she has been focused on the bulk production of pieces.
"I'd been out in the real world making stuff. Now I can return to having fun and pushing some boundaries creatively. I've been experimenting with kitsch and low/high art. Playing with all these little animals, taking them back to white, then transforming them with flowers and gold.
When I sculpted previously, I didn't use gold, so elevating the work with gold has been great. Colour becomes emotive to people. When it's white, people don't have an immediate response. In a nutshell, white is less triggering than a colour. So, if figures are stripped back to their bare form in white, the work becomes statuesque and timeless.
Some pieces, such as the bow vases, were consciously made, while others just 'happened'."
What inspired you to add the bows to your vases?
"Sometimes you get a really special gift, and part of the giving is the beautiful wrapping. The whole sentiment is continued in the wrapping. The bows on my work represent that special feeling - someone has gone to the effort to tie a bow, so there is sentiment there. Relating it to the Bow Vase with flowers in it, that sentiment is everlasting.
People might think my pieces are just decorative. I do hope they'll become an heirloom of sorts but I hope they won't be stashed away in a cabinet behind a glass door, that they'll be out on the bench in use for people to enjoy. My vases come to life with flowers in them.
I want to create something special in your home for every day. That's what flowers do, and that is what I hope to capture with my flowers, something elevated that can be used every day."
The vases in this collection are incredible. We can see where the reference to 'odyssey' comes from!
"I like to call it art production, the pieces covered in flowers. I spent 12 hours just on the flowers for each large vase. I wanted to make some extra-special pieces that I wouldn't usually make. They are very special to me and have had a lot of time and care put into them."
The candlesticks are extra special as well.
"In my earlier art practice, I made sculptures, and since design school I have always wanted my work to have a function. So the candlesticks embody both; something quirky, eye-catching or that will start a conversation, but it is also useful. A juxtaposition of cutesy kitchy-ness with a bit of curiosity and fun."
And lastly, the balloons are fabulous! Will you be making more of them?
"I love the helium balloons; they are a really quirky piece to add to the mix. I absolutely love pop art.
Each piece is sculpted around an actual balloon. I chose a classic colour that would make it look as realistic as possible. The finish takes a very long time to get just right, using industrial-quality paint that can withstand high temperatures. Yes, I'm planning to make more in different colours, too."
Catch 'Fragile Fantasies - An odyssey of adornment' until 10/04/25 at The Poi Room , 17 Osborne Street, Newmarket and online.
