Simon Bayliss’ lidded jars, made on the potter’s wheel, are based on lighthouses found in the paintings of Alfred Wallis. The pots are decorated with traditional slipware techniques, using wet coloured clay to create painterly surfaces, finished with clear glossy glaze.

Bayliss works from Porthmeor Studios in St Ives, a few doors away from Wallis’ former home. The lidded jars also reference the giant sculptural versions of Wallis lighthouses in Simon Fujiwara’s solo exhibition at Tate St Ives in 2012. Bayliss upholds the sentiment he witnessed in Fujiwara’s work – to queer the legacy of art and ceramics history in St Ives – yet his departure is more domestic, both in scale and functionality.

Displayed in:

We Are Floating in Space
11 February — 03 June 2023
Newlyn Art Gallery & The Exchange

Left to right:
Lidded Jar (for Alfred Wallis – Longships)
Lidded Jar (for Alfred Wallis – Mount’s Bay ii)
Lidded Jar (for Alfred Wallis – Mount’s Bay)
Lidded Jar (for Alfred Wallis – Penzance Harbour)
2023
Single-fired terracotta, coloured slips, clear, copper, and honey glaze

Left: Lidded Jar (for Alfred Wallis – St Ives Bay)
Right: Tea Caddy (for Alfred Wallis)
2023
Single-fired terracotta, coloured slips, clear glaze

Installation view: We Are Floating in Space, The Exchange, Penzance

Artwork background left: Mary Trapp
Artwork background right: Ro Robertson

Lidded Jars (for Alfred Wallis)