GALLERY 1
CACÚLO – TONI DE JESUS
30 NOVEMBER – 15 FEBRUARY
Cacúlo: (ca·cgu·lu) a word from Madeiran slang that means a mound of earth or clay.
This touring exhibition builds on ideas from Toni De Jesus’s solo show at MUDAS – Museu de Arte Contemporânea da Madeira (Portugal, 2023). It focuses on the interplay between the artist, the work, the material and place.
Toni has a history of migration, which creates a feeling of both belonging and not belonging. Parallel to this, his work exists in the space between tradition and breaking with tradition, functionality and non-functionality, craftsmanship and idea-based art. This space in-between is where Toni’s identity is formed. Driven by a desire for connection, Toni explores themes of place, memory, and loss; core elements of his migrant experience.
Through examining how local materials, such as sand, rocks, sediments and clays have been used with ceramics throughout Maderia’s 600-year history, Toni was able to find a tangible link between what defines where he comes from and what he is.
He also delves into non-physical heritage, the sharing of stories, gossip and songs passed down from family and locals. This creates a parallel between something that is solid, like ceramics fired in a wood kiln and the perishable, like the whisper of how my grandmother met my grandad. The developed work explores these notions in a different context. Living in Wales for the past nine years has transformed Toni into the person he is today.
Many people can relate to the feeling of being in-between. Through this exhibition, Toni invites viewers to reflect on their own identities and how these experiences shape their understanding of Cacúlo.
There will be an opening in the gallery on Saturday 30 November, 4-6pm, and the exhibition will run until the 15 February 2025.
A Llantarnam Grange Arts Centre and Ruthin Craft Centre Partnership exhibition funded by Arts Council of Wales Create Funding.
