INCOMMON situates the work of Amber Mottram and Graham Jones side-by-side, and in dialogue.

INCOMMON teases out resonances between the artists’ distinct practices, to reveal commonalities between their conceptual concerns and aesthetic resolutions.

The sculptures and structures evoke the paraphernalia of the domestic, demonstrating both artists’ fascination with geometries and textures, systems, and processes. Using several disparate technologies and methodologies (from industrial-scale CNC and print machines to hand-made assemblage), Mottram and Jones experiment with materials and motifs to produce highly creative and often unexpected visual artefacts. They test out the inherent properties and functions of objects, and toy with the viewer’s expectations.

Repetition and ‘repurposing’ are essential to both artists’ working methods and aesthetic aims; making the familiar strange, and transforming the mundane into the marvellous.

The notion of play remains a serious concern. In Mottram’s work, ‘to play’ is a way to reappropriate her domestic environment as a palette; a way to protest the role of motherhood, responsibility and home making; a way re-embed curiosity and to embrace the joy and discomfort within the rhythm of the daily routine.

For Jones, an underlying element of play informs both the combining of model-making and fine art components, as well as the apparently absurd pursuance of geometric systems and processes. Objects that shuttle between the worlds of mass production and bespoke contrivance evolve; flirting with potential meaning and memory, but remaining first-and-foremost self-sufficient aesthetic structures.

A number of the exhibits in INCOMMON reference the interior architecture of The Turner House. Both artists have utilised details within the building as spring boards for new work, in addition to responding to the spatial constraints of the gallery to provide site specific pieces.

Amber Mottram

Amber Mottram has worked extensively within the arts for over a decade. Exhibitions include Art in the Bar (Chapter Arts Centre, 2011) and Test Bed (Orel Davies, 2012). She completed a residency at Inverness Place with Made in Roath in 2019, and participated in UNITe residency at g39 during the same year. Her film, This Too Shall Pass, was previewed at Caraboo film festival (2020), and she was commissioned by Cardiff Council to create an interactive ground mural for Summer Of Smiles in 2021. Amber is co-founder of The Boat Studio, a multi-disciplinary, adaptable space used as a meeting place and a platform for music, performance and visual art.

Graham Jones

Graham Jones, born in London grew up in Neath before attending Cardiff College of Art. He has exhibited in Beep Biennial painting prize 2018, 2020 and 2022. Beep painting satellite solo show “SUM OF ITS PARTS” at Arcade Cardiff, being awarded the Andrew Stitt/Gallery TEN prize in 2020 resulting in “UNWRAPPING” exhibition at Elysium Swansea 2022. In 2021 he exhibited at “A Generous Space” in Hastings Contemporary, a group survey following the Artists Support Pledge. In April 2024 he exhibited at Terrace Gallery London as part of group show “SNAG” and currently has work in collections in UK, Germany and US.