Black’s new series of paintings are based on small, fragile Syrian glass vessels from the 3rd and 4th century, which she discovered recently in the Istanbul Archaeological Museum. These glass objects have miraculously outlived centuries of conflict. Their shapes, originally Roman in form, have informed the making of glass and ceramics through the centuries, mutating, each iteration enhanced with another layer of history, culture and tradition.

With mathematic precision, Black has peeled back these layers and worked with the original forms, dramatically increasing the scale to allow their curved surfaces to act as her canvas on which she depicts theatrically obscured figures veiled in drips and splashes of hand coloured clay slips. Black’s paintings explore themes of history, religion and war and the fragility of her medium mirrors the fragile complexity of the current global political situation.

Archaeological evidence suggests the first glass blowing techniques were developed in 50BC in an area that includes the Hatay province of Turkey where Black worked with the Karam Foundation in 2015. Inspired by the process, Black will present Gathering, a sound based installation for Sutton Gallery’s entrance space.

Instantly her new works speak of time, weight and form, the scale is provocative and the imagery deceptively decorative and at a closer look, sobering. Her installation of these works is almost shrine-like and promotes silence and contemplation of one’s own beliefs and homeland.