During my time at The Clay Studio I began a collaborative project with geo-chemist Dr Jon Hawkings and his team of scientists at the University of Pennsylvania.They research the effect of ice-caps melting in the Arctic Circle and how trapped elements are released into glacial meltwater and downstream biogeochemical cycles. In June 2024 I was invited to join them for two weeks of their fieldwork in Greenland to participate in collecting water samples.
Another Way of Knowing brings together my personal experience of the monumental Arctic ice-scape, research into the history of Arctic exploration, and snapshots of mercury content data recorded on three separate dates. I have taken a micro-macro approach for this project in order to highlight the complex web of activity that lies beneath the fragile frozen north.
Bio:
Jeanne Blissett Robertson graduated with a BA Hons in Sculpture & Environmental Art from Glasgow School of Art in 2015. Since then she has lived and worked internationally carrying out artist residencies in Abu Dhabi (Manarat Al Saadiyat), Mexico (Trapo Galeria), Edinburgh (Edinburgh Ceramics Workshop) and most recently Ullapool, Scotland (An Talla Solais). She recently received an Arts Council England grant, 'Developing Your Creative Practice', for a self-tailored ceramics training programme where she learnt from crafts people based in Scotland. Her activity included salt-glazing in Isle of Skye, making geological glazes with rocks from Assynt (world heritage site), foraging for clay and minerals, and multiple-part mould making for slip-casting. Recent exhibitions include 'To A Green Thought', DVAA, Philadelphia, 2022, 'Off-Kilter', Drill Hall, Edinburgh, 2021, and 'Running Parallel', Lewes Light Festival, 2020. Alongside her practice, Robertson delivers experimental art workshops for people of all ages and abilities.
