Five Minutes with... Belinda Guerin

Belinda Guerin is an emerging ceramicist living and working on Kaurna Country in Tarntanya (Adelaide). She graduated from the University of South Australia in 2023 with a Bachelor of Contemporary Art, exploring a variety of ceramic methods throughout her studies. Belinda’s work is inspired by the visual storytelling of medieval art and folk tales. She seeks to communicate the modern human experience through symbolic drawings and sculptural elements.

Can you introduce yourself and tell us what first drew you to ceramics as a medium for storytelling?

My name is Bel and I began my practice ‘faebel’ in 2023. I had been experimenting with ceramics throughout university and fell in love with creating something which could become integrated into everyday life through its purpose. I love looking at pottery from the past which has outlasted so many different eras. I feel transported to where and how that artist was living and get an intimate glimpse into their life. My favourite pieces of art are usually intensely decorated and serve a unique function. It’s the function of objects that keeps at them at the center of our lives and ensures the stories surrounding them are continually noticed and passed on.

How does illustration influence the surfaces and forms you create?

When I create my forms, I gravitate towards flat surfaces which can be divided easily into sections I can work within. There is always symmetry and repetition in my work and this is essential to my practice. Creating smaller sections to work within helps to break down the process and allow me to focus more closely on illustrating that section. I often avoid glaze and opt to burnish my pieces, so that the viewer can see the detail and texture of my drawings. For Heart of Darkness, I pushed myself to experiment with new forms and respond more directly to the surface and material. I was much more playful in my approach and aimed to make each piece feel more alive, as if enchanted.

Belinda Guerin, Serpentine Altar, Image: Connor Patterson
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What role does slowness and hand making play in preserving meaning within your work?

For me, it's important that making be a time where I slow down and reflect. The repetitive actions allow me space to think about what I’m trying to convey through the piece and who I’m making it for. Personally, I can feel very disconnected from the world, but through making I feel connected to an ancient craft and those who were doing it before me. I feel that the objects in our lives have the power to anchor us or widen the disconnect. At the core of my practice is the belief that we should understand where our objects and materials come from and the value of human creation above all.

Many works in the Heart of Darkness exhibition draw on symbols and motifs associated with the Gothic. What symbols or motifs felt essential in your pieces and why?

I was most interested in the depictions of women in the Gothic – how the witch and the widow reflect anxieties about female autonomy and independence. It was important for me to explore how the aesthetics surrounding these characterisations moved from representing isolation to empowerment. I drew a lot of inspiration from Victorian mourning garments and jewellery, challenging myself to translate delicate beading and fine lace into the conflicting material of clay. It was essential to me that each piece should also reference the magic of the witch - the tools and ingredients she would use in her craft. Roses, thorns, and vines make many appearances as I feel they are perfect symbols for the complexity of femininity.

The Gothic often transforms fear into fascination - how do you hope audiences move between those feelings when encountering your work?

The pieces in this series follow the journey of oppressive depictions and their reclamation. I want the viewer to feel this journey to empowerment when encountering the pieces. Looking at the works should feel like stepping into an empty witch’s cottage – the viewer is immersed in the magic and examines all of her wondrous things. There is fear of the unknown that is overtaken by the desire to explore and discover. Viewers reflect on the dark past and gather the energy being passed on. All of the works in this series were made to be gathered around for rituals both magical and mundane. I hope viewers visualise these gatherings and leave empowered to find a little more magic in their own everyday rituals.