Self-Made: Reshaping Identities

15 Nov 2024-1 Jun 2025

Overview

An exhibition of contemporary ceramics reflecting on the complexities of identity and self-determination.

What is our true identity? Or do we have many? How do we make a sense of self? Immerse yourself in an exploration of the ever-changing nature of identity through the shape-shifting properties of clay.

An ancient and elemental material, clay is subject to many altered states. Beginning as soft and pliable, often changing colour as well as texture when exposed to air, heat and force. Identity is similarly influenced by a combination of genetic, environmental and historical factors as we adapt to our circumstances and become moulded by our experiences.

Self-Made features work by four leading artists Phoebe Collings-James, Rachel Kneebone, Matt J Smith and Renee So, who each use clay in different ways to explore embodied narratives, the construction of self and the capacity for physical and emotional transformation. Touching on class, gender, sexuality, cultural heritage and historical legacies, each piece represents an intimate interaction between artist and material, moulded, cast and inscribed with new narratives and forms of expression.

These works remind us that the creation of self-identity can be a challenging yet profoundly empowering process. Encompassing lost, hidden, re-made or re-claimed identities, Self-Made reveals fresh connections with the enduring stories of identity, care and belonging at the heart of the Foundling Museum, while prompting us to consider the myriad factors and conditions that determine our own sense of who we are and the potential to keep reinventing ourselves.