Flowers wilt out of the top of this ceramic vase, while worms and slugs crawl out of human ears to spell For Better or Worse. This sculpture is one of a series of five Wedding Vows by Lindsey Mendick, each exploring a traditional wedding vow using high relief motifs in the manner of Palissy ware. The series was included in her solo show Are You Going to Destroy Me? (Goldsmiths CCA, 2020) that centred on the artist’s relationship with her fiancé – the title quoting a question she asked him on their first date. Taking a cue from the inherent vulnerability one faces within the power structures of a romantic relationship, Mendick draws on their shared love of the gothic horror movies that were a mainstay throughout their experience of the 2020 Covid-19 lockdowns.
Presenting a highly personal iconography, Mendick has explained how the vases ‘poke humour at the symbiotic relationship’ between keeping a plant and a romantic relationship alive, while also celebrating her engagement to her fiancé. The inclusion of the latter’s ears on the vase refer to a couple’s intimacy as they develop traditions and routines that can be off-putting to others. Slugs are a recurring trope in the artist’s work, and in fact, her ‘worst fear’:
I’m terrified of them in all their bulbous, slimy glory. As I suffer from depression and anxiety, I treat my work as a mode of catharsis; pounding my neurosis and fear into the tactile clay to create effigies that analyse and almost celebrate my everyday fears and nightmares.
