QUIESCENCE
karta kaur

september 2025

QUIESCENCE is an exhibition and on-going project by Brockley-local Karta Kaur. “Quiescence” is the state of dormancy in a condition, where it is latent but forever present and incurable, and at any moment can become manifest. Karta lives with an energy-limiting condition which restricts her output. Instead of seeing this as a constraint, she uses it as a framework and rhythm for her practice, carefully considering every gesture with the material, crafting each piece slowly and with intention over a period of 3-4 months. She regards the work to be continually evolving yet finished at every stage, permitting her to step away from it at any time. This approach allows her to relax into a creative flow rather than labour against limitations, giving her freedom to enjoy the process of making over the finished artefact.

QUIESCENCE explores life, death and the spectrum of states in between – wakefulness/sleep, function/dysfunction, presence/oblivion, health/sickness – the resulting figures inviting us to contemplate our shared human condition. However, this invitation extends beyond the cerebral into the physical and sensorial: using her body as a tool to shape the clay, several figures mirror the human form at scale and are designed to be held by the viewer. Reciprocating our embrace and providing a deep sense of comfort, handling the figures is a powerful and unique experience.

Karta Kaur moved to Brockley in 1996 and first studied ceramics at Brockley Rise Adult Learning. She got hooked on clay – a material so intrinsically therapeutic she couldn’t let go. In 2019 she took on a full-time degree at UAL Central St Martins and emerged with a First-Class Honors degree and the body of work featured in this exhibition.