VIEW WORKS

The inherent qualities of any given material are of significant consideration for artists. While a number of artists impose form onto a material with an end result in mind, there are equally a number who begin with undetermined outcomes. Fiona Cable approaches her practice in the later mode of process that allow the resulting work to retain a materials’ vitality.

Anthropologist Tim Ingold’s describes this as engaging with the “force and flows of material”[1]. His enquiry in The textility of making, Ingold’s ‘textilic’ model refers to the etymology of the word textile; in Latin ‘to weave’. It is the interwoven lines - paths of movement as visible traces of process - how things come into being, rather than focusing on the end product.  According to Ingold, this way of working has guided practitioners for centuries. However, in the mid-15^th century this tactile, sensuous knowledge, from splitting timber to building cathedrals, was replaced with technology.[2] Technical systems of expedience and efficiency were given precedence as operating principles. Materials subsequently had form imposed on them. Whereas Ingold’s concept of the vitality of material is grounded in the textility of making, keeping the integrity of the material alive.

This process of making necessitates ongoing movement with improvisation and rhythm. Fiona works with materials in this way. There is never a definitive last layer or loop, there are no pre-designed instructions. The maker is in tune with the materials, caught up in the action as the material asserts itself.

The tactile sensibilities of organic materials are alluring. Clay has unique properties that lend itself to experimentation. It responds to heat, it can take up moisture then release it slowly into the air, it carries a temperature and a smell. Clay absorbs sound. It responds in different ways to water temperatures and friction. It is soft yet will ultimately be hard by drying or firing, yet retains an element of fragility.

“The process I adopt is not scientific – the amount applied is happenstance. I might start with an idea in mind, yet as the work unfolds it begins to reveal itself.  There is no structure that defines a size, no boundaries to work within. With little intervention and under its’ own volition, clay respond in varying ways. Some areas may crack, yet elsewhere have capacity to cling and bind. It is the underlying non-linguistic conversation that is the critical component. Nurturing my garden and being close to the earth influences these clay forms. Gardening is in essence an act of creativity. Learning to care for and encourage this mysterious power, to create the conditions to summon that force of nature, but ultimately not control it.”

Fiona enjoys unravelling the complexities hidden in the value of material and process.

Bio

Education:
2020 Masters in Fine Arts, Whitecliffe College of Art and Design, Auckland, NZ
2015 Masters in Arts Management, Whitecliffe College of Art and Design, Auckland, NZ

Exhibitions:
2024 ‘Studio to Wall’ group exhibition, 250 Gallery, Ponsonby, Auckland
2024 ‘Dog Days’ group exhibition, Railway Street Gallery, Auckland
2023 ‘To sit beside you’ group exhibition, Railway Street Gallery, Auckland
2022 ‘Pick n Mix’ Studio 445, Ponsonby, Auckland
2022 ‘New Plastic Experiences’ group show at DEMO, Auckland
2022 ‘Sculpture on the Peninsula’ at Loudon Farm, Banks Peninsula
2021 ‘Changing Threads’, Contemporary Textile Awards, Refinery Arts Space, Nelson 2020 ‘Lively Collisions’, group show at DEMO, K’Rd, Auckland
2020 ’Subliminal’, Fiona Cable & Kim Shaw, Railway Street Studios and Gallery, Auckland 2012-2020 various group shows at Railway Street Studios and Gallery, Auckland

Experience:

2023–2024: Artist, traveller
2012-2022: Artist, Director, Curator and founder of Railway Street Studios and Gallery, Auckland
2021 and 2022: Finalist in the Contemporary Textile Awards, Nelson 2022: Finalist in Sculpture on the Peninsula, South Island