About
Morgan Dowdall (they/them) is an artist born in South Wales and based in Cardiff. As a BA Ceramics graduate their practice is highly influenced by the materiality of clay, however Morgan’s work explores many facets of visual art including: drawing, sculpture, applied arts, surface design and installation.
Morgan uses the human figure as a vessel to explore themes of queerness, camp, objectification, intimacy and dysmorphia. Through these, they extend queer aesthetics and attempt to subvert representations of gendered bodies seen throughout history. Throughout their work the body is often deconstructed, warped, stretched and reimagined before being reassembled into new configurations. Bodies are posed in a state of ‘beautiful discomfort’ and exhibit a jarring in-between of flesh and bone - exquisite yet grotesque.
Morgan also has a more playful side to their practice evidenced by their slipware plates and illustrations which are an overt celebration of queer sexuality - joyful and naive, they reference historical ceramics yet remain fresh and contemporary through vivid colours and the portrayal of diverse naked bodies.
In 2019 Morgan was one of the 10 shortlisted artists for 'Robert Walters UK Young Artist of the Year Award' at the Saatchi Gallery in London. In the same year a selection of Morgan’s plates were also acquired by the Harris Museum & Art Gallery in Preston and are now part of the permanent collection. They hope to continue to fill museums, galleries and public spaces with representations of queer people and queer perspectives.
