Wheels in motion

Ceramicist Gerry Wedd has performed great feats with clay over four decades.

We love the dreamy swirls of this low-pile wool rug (230cm), $399, from Ikea. “We wanted to create a pattern that captures nature’s calmness,” say its Queensland-born, Netherlands-based designers, Kate and Joel Booy. www.ikea.com.au.

Each year, South Australia’s Jam-Factory celebrates one of the state’s most influential and outstanding artists through its

Icon series. Its current icon is ceramicist Gerry Wedd (above), and a travelling exhibition showcases his unique objects, which convey intriguing stories and comments on current social issues.

caught up with the artist: H&G

What does it mean to you to be named Jam-Factory’s icon for 2016?

In a time when the new and the transitory are celebrated so forcefully, it’s nice for someone like me, who is late in their career, to be acknowledged in this way.

What can we expect to see in Gerry Wedd: Kitschen Man?

Although ostensibly an exhibition of new work, the show runs the gamut of my approach to making and features ideas, poems, songs and subjects that I have worked on for decades.

As you begin each piece, do you have a particular story or idea in mind that you are trying to communicate?

Every piece starts from an idea or a story, often a song or some story I heard on the radio. The work is often imbued with some level of social commentary.

Did your work with surf-culture brand Mambo influence you?

Working for Mambo was liberating. Director Dare Jennings encouraged risky graphics and the team was a hotbed of artists whose work I admire, so I suppose the experience pushed me into working in different ways and also deeper into social commentary.

Showing at Yarta Purtli Cultural Centre in Port Augusta, SA, until May 27, before moving on to other galleries in SA, NSW and Queensland. www.jamfactory.com.au.