Chester Collins

"Coming from a big family, one of six children. I’ve always been about people and connection. Commenting on the world around me and how it has influenced everyone. I grew up near the ocean, spend a lot of time in the Blue Mountains area and am fond of the city. This has drawn me to the different natural and suburban subcultures around Sydney that I integrate into my work. 

Ceramics in its history traditionally lends itself to craft. I use the form and craft as a metaphor itself to communicate the narrative. Telling a story that is relatable to the audience in their own way. Layering characters and scenes into the vessel, tactile objects or painterly ceramic relief. I’ve always believed a good bellied pot is rich and full. Literally. 

Childhood and memory have always been influential to me. The documentation of time in space and inherent capitalistic consumables that influence our underdeveloped minds. Paralleling personal experience and imagination with prevalent issues of gender, race, gentrification, identity, pop culture, class, religion, death, and social issues."