Undergrowth
13 January – 3 March 2026
Curated by Elizabeth Jackson & Emily Stapleton Jefferis
Undergrowth refers to the layer of vegetation existing beneath taller trees and plants. This ecosystem plays a vital role in supporting biodiversity, providing shelter and food for wildlife, and contributing to the cycle of decomposition and nutrient recycling in the soil.
Metaphorically, undergrowth symbolises the hidden, often overlooked layers of existence, ideas and processes operating beneath the surface, altering our environment in subtle yet important ways.
Expect a tactile, multi-dimensional installation combining wall, floor, and plinth-based elements. Some works will represent an “earth layer”—possibly incorporating a metal grid that allows for viewing both above and below, symbolising the hidden and visible aspects of undergrowth. The combination of ceramics and metal will create a contrast of textures, highlighting the interplay between organic and industrial materials.
The exhibition will invite viewers to engage with the work from multiple angles, encouraging a deeper understanding of the unseen forces that shape both the work and the world around us. The varying materials and textures will create a landscape that feels both evolving and interconnected.
Artists
Elizabeth Jackson
https://www.ejackson.online
Elizabeth Jackson (b.1991) lives and works in London. In 2013 she graduated with a BA in Fine Art from Central Saint Martins and in 2021 with a MA in Ceramics & Glass from the RCA. On graduating she was awarded the Anglo Swedish Exchange Residency at Konstfack in Stockholm, Sweden. Her work has been exhibited at the Ingram Prize where she was a 2021 finalist and the British Ceramic Biennial.
Emily Stapleton Jefferis
https://www.emilystapletonjefferis.co.uk/
Emily Stapleton-Jefferis graduated in 2018 with an MA in Ceramics and Glass from The Royal College of Art, where she was awarded The Griffin Scholarship and The Eduardo Paolozzi Travel Award. Since graduating Emily has been developing her sculptural practice focusing on ceramics, and her socially engaged practice where she works across many mediums with a wide range of people.
Jo Pearl
Jo Pearl is a multi-disciplinary artist working in clay, a provocateur using this benign material to elicit emotional reactions. Her practice is also a celebration of the materiality of clay and its diverse states of being. She brings clay to life, through kinetic sculpture, emotional portraiture, haptic abstract forms and combining clay stop-motion with fired ceramics.
Lisa Hellrup
Lisa Hellrup is a Swedish Ceramic Artist born in Sundsvall, who currently lives and works in Leksan, Sweden. Lisa was constantly longing to live closer to nature and the changing of the seasons. After almost two decades in the corporate world, she decided to move to Leksand, a town located in the countryside of Sweden, to pursue her urge to communicate creatively. Her sculptural work is delicate, sublime but also strong and bold, very much inspired by Hellrup’s surroundings and her subsequent response.
Meichen Chen
Born(1998) in China and currently based in London, Meichen uses ceramic sculpture as a world-building medium, attempting to construct a radical future possibility through apocalyptic narratives. Her work depicts emerging mutant living beings growing wildly in human habitats. In this way, she attempts to critique the idea of long-term anthropocentrism. It provokes us to reflect on the continued exploitation of natural resources and the oppression of other non-human species.
Mingshu Li
Mingshu Li (b. 1994), is an emerging ceramic artist based in Oslo. She graduated MFA Masters in Medium and Material Based Art at the Oslo National Academy of the Arts in 2020. She has participated in exhibitions for the past five years both nationally and internationally. Her works are represented in the El Vendrell Municipal Art Collection in Spain, KODE Art Museums in Norway, and Jingdezhen Ceramic University Museum in China.
Raphael Emine
http://www.raphaelemine.com
Inspired by the writings of British anthropologist Tim Ingold or French landscape designer Gilles Clément, Raphaël Emine’s work aims to break down the boundaries between theoretical knowledge and practice. The artist seeks to transcend the traditional boundaries between these domains by integrating reflections on biology and the living into his sculptural practice, primarily through ceramics. In his sculptures, he merges traditional clay modeling techniques with contemporary technologies such as 3D printing. This combination allows him to create complex forms, inspired by mathematical principles, botany, entomology, as well as human-shaped architectures and animal constructions.
Sisse Holst Pedersen
Sisse Holst Pedersen (b. 1993) is a Copenhagen-based artist and ceramicist from northern Denmark. She began her studies in 2016 at The Royal Danish Academy of Crafts in Glass and Ceramics before moving to Amsterdam, where she graduated from the Gerrit Rietveld Academie of Fine Arts and Design in 2019.
safia hijos
Safia Hijos lives and works in Nîmes. After studying law and then several years in legal practice, she decided to devote herself to ceramics. She was awarded a Master’s degree in Ceramics from La Cambre, Brussels in 2014. In 2019, her installation Émeraude supersonique, sonique et aux feuilles rougesearned her the Grand Prix at the Vallauris Biennale. Today, this ceramicist works in her own studio, exhibits across Europe and further afield on a regular basis, and teaches from time to time in various institutions.