“qhc porthmeor newsletter”
Porthmeor Residency, St Ives, 2020.
[From left] Amberley, Helena, Cat and Ellie founded Quarry House Collective after a group show 'Sculptili, Materiales. Conceptu.’ (The Fish Factory, Penryn, 2019) brought the artists together. From this instrumental moment a conversation formed around a shared interest in the poetics of sculpture, landscape, and drawing.
QHC directly refers to a planned studio space at a granite quarry in Mabe, and it also references their ties to the materials and processes that have shaped them as artists and as a group. However, due to complications related to COVID-19, it meant that this and another studio option they had planned for in Penryn were not able to happen, leading to this wonderful opportunity of working in Porthmeor’s Studio 9 for two months. Since moving into the space at Porthmeor they have begun to weave their fermenting ideas into tangible works, and allow their practices to intertwine and grow together.
QHC also work with fellow artist David A Paton, who has become a mentor and collaborator to the Collective, and the five can often be found on shorelines, in fields, and in the sea, having their signature land and sea meetings. David says:
“I first came to know Amberley, Helena, Cat and Ellie while they were undergraduates at Falmouth University. All four artists were connected through their engagement with materiality, place, craft and an evident commitment to developing their practices professionally. Olivia Khadka from Cultivator also became an integral part of the project, and we were able to establish funding to support the development of their workspace. The four graduates became the Quarry House Collective, and despite Covid related challenges along the way, they have embraced opportunities like the Porthmeor residency, and made a huge impression on me with their friendship, determination, patience and creativity”.
Artist’s Statements
Bark
Cement (2020)
Amberley’s fascination at the contrast between geological formations and man-made architecture has brought a different approach to her sculpture. Using cement with manipulated, found materials she explores the diverse perceptions of natural forms and the tactility within them.
A Dried Wild Poppy
Pencil (2020)
@helenaannemay
Helena Anne May maintains a practice based in woven drawing and sculpture. She celebrates the odd, the bewildering and natural ecological forms above and below the surface. She has always been influenced by a curiosity in language, and over the last few years has been exploring forms, textures and poetics held in the natural environments which surround her home.
Blaenau Ffestiniog
Slate, Ink, Pencil (2020)
@catherinehorton.art
Cat’s practice is rooted in a deep interest in excavated landscapes and the accidental sculpture contained within them. She has been working on translating drawings and paintings of a quarried Welsh hillside into sculptural forms whilst in Studio 9.
Subversive Biomorphism
Portland Limestone (2019)
@ellebrownartist
Elle’s recent work Subversive Biomorphism uses fragments of the human form, pieced together to create androgynous and abstract shapes. Exploring this terrain through collage, print, paintings and sculpture, she offers a commentary on the fragile and transitory existence of identity.
@drdavidapaton
Dr David A Paton is an artist-researcher and craftsperson with a specialism in Cornish granite. He has worked with Trenoweth Granite Quarry for 11 years, and alongside this and his job as a lecturer in BA Drawing, he currently works as a graduate mentor for Cultivator, and is working on a commission for the Leach Pottery.
QHC are working towards an open studio at Porthmeor for the end of December, so watch this space!
