One handbuilt stoneware ceramic double walled vessel inlaid with cobalt oxide and glazed on the inside only, 15 x 10  x 15 cm

These ceramic vessels stand in for a phenomenon where the stratospheric polar vortex is displaced and split by a sudden stratospheric warming event which can significantly impact our weather. This work was inspired by a conversation between a scientist and an artist and a shared concern: “How can we care for what we do not know or understand?”  The title ‘With my back to the world’ makes reference to both an artwork by Agnes Martin, called to mind when reflecting on images of the earth’s atmosphere taken from the International Space Station, and the conceptual distance we can put between ourselves and the environment in which we live. How can we come to know and care about places and spaces beyond our reach but not beyond our influence?