Held

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Nisha Duggal
4 March – 1 April 2023

Nisha Duggal is a multimedia artist exploring expressions of freedom within the everyday, working across video, ceramic, sculpture, textiles and paint. She focuses on the spiritual and sensory qualities of artmaking, interested in the transformations that occur through collaborative creation.

‘Held’ is an exhibition of selected artworks from Nisha’s residencies with Collective Matter, London and In-Situ, Pendle, which took place across 2022. ‘Held’ was a participatory project that explored heritage, connection, landscape and ownership. Nisha worked with local communities in Pendle to create hand-formed clay objects that looked to embody the landscape and link the maker to their ancestors. Nisha celebrated our need to connect to the landscape and our families through this process. At the London studios of Collective Matter, she produced a series of ceramic phones. These artworks become redundant versions of the technology they mimic. However, a different connection occurs as the ceramics are transformed into tactile talismans.

In 2022, Nisha Duggal completed a 6-month residency at Collective Matter in South East London. The residency offers space and support for individuals to create new work or undergo a period of research in clay. Collective Matter is a collaboration between three artists, Eva Masterman, Mary O’Malley and Katie Spragg, using clay to explore interdisciplinary practice, communication, and learning. Nisha also worked with In-Situ in Pendle on a residency and workshop series as part of ‘The Gatherings’. Led by the Pendle Hill Landscape Partnership Scheme, ‘The Gatherings’ introduced local people to the surrounding landscape. In-Situ is an arts organisation working in libraries, supermarkets, homes, schools, and rural locations. They explore how artists can enhance and facilitate communal, environmental, and interdisciplinary dialogue by creating art and culture together.