Opening Hours:

  • Wednesdays: 13:00-16:00hrs
  • Fridays: 13:00-16:00hrs
  • Saturdays: 11:00-16:00hrs
  • Sundays: 11:00-16:00hrs

Discover the life and work of Sam Haile (1909–48), a British Surrealist painter and ceramicist whose bold, thought-provoking ceramics reflect the political and social upheavals of the 1930s and 1940s. Haile used simple earthenware pots as canvases for surreal imagery, distorted figures, unsettling scenes, and symbolic motifs that speak to the complexities of the human condition. His mastery of slipware reveals a deep engagement with the turbulent world around him, offering insights that continue to resonate today.

For this exhibition, The Stradling Collection invited contemporary ceramicist Emilie Taylor (b. 1980) to produce a new series of work in response to Haile’s Three Spinsters c.1947. Taylor’s practice, rooted in socially engaged ceramics, explores both the materiality of slipware and the subject matter of women in mythology, themes found in Haile’s iconic platter. Her three pots challenge us to consider how women occupy decorative and public spaces—in playful, political, and characterful ways.

Haile’s Three Spinsters pictures women who appear to become the Neolithic burial stones of Devon, referencing the legend of three gifted spinners transformed into standing stones. Haile playfully anthropomorphises these figures, hinting at themes of strength, myth, and the subversion of stereotypes.

Taylor’s pots respond with layers of meaning in their form and decoration. Inscribed with a seventeenth-century French chant once used to demonise women accused of witchcraft, her work reflects on the myths and suspicions that have surrounded women with knowledge and power. Yet, her figures are depicted with joyful energy, their bodies filling the decorative space, celebrating women’s vitality and community.

Exhibited alongside Haile’s ceramics, Taylor’s new works create a powerful conversation about mythology, material, and the ongoing relevance of clay as a medium for social commentary.

Conscious Clay continues through to 28 June, with both artists’ works in conversation throughout the exhibition. From 9 May, Emilie Taylor’s ceramics will be available for purchase. For a price list, please email Admin@StradlingCollection.org or speak to a steward during your visit.