Wilma van der Meyden

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		'Urban Bloom' is a mosaic mural in the public thoroughfare under a historic railway arch at SWG3 in Glasgow. The mosaic is made from Cesi frost proof tiles and sits on a rendered brick wall, framed by sand stone. The concept and design for Urban Bloom is inspired by: - a mosaic detail in the ceiling of Glasgow City Chambers, dating back to the late 19th century, the same era as the sandstone arch which frames Urban Bloom. - Plants that grow defiantly in old stone walls in Glasgow. - Ornamental ceramic tile art in the communal traditional Glasgow wally closes. - Tile art in old railway stations. - Victorian mosaic art on thresholds and shopfronts in Glasgow.(many have sadly been erased from the city) - Broken up thick yellow and white paint on Glasgow street markings. - Ruinous sand stone walls in Glasgow. - Dandelions and thistles. - The material language of mosaic which inherently transforms the broken... - Street art in Glasgow.
		'Urban Intervention' is an example of some of the mosaic interventions I do in Glasgow. The bowl motif has often featured in my layered paintings. It has come to reflect the lengthy vacancy of buildings in Glasgow before demolition and also the act of demolition itself. I'm also inspired by the global 'Empty Bowls' grassroots movement in which handmade ceramic bowls become vessels of hope by motivating and mobilising people to share food.
		'Between Heaven and Earth' is a site-specific sculpture made especially for the Constellations 2022 exhibition in Chester Cathedral. The insides of the two nineteenth century, handmade chimney pots from Glasgow are wrapped with mirror mosaics based on the nineteenth century mosaic murals in Chester Cathedral. To see the mosaics and read the accompanying text please visit my website. https://www.wilmavandermeyden.com/
		The idea for ‘Curiosity’ is inspired by Sir Walter Scott’s cabinet of curiosities in the Library of the Abbotsford House on his estate. ‘Curiosity’ was purposely designed and built as a cabinet to incorporate an earlier artwork from 1995 called ‘Intitled’. This piece is made from a glass blown bottle with scorched, fragments of ostrich egg shells inside. The shape of the dark frame on the front of the cabinet is inspired by the features of the fireplace in the Entrance Hall of Abbotsford House. The imitation slate of the frame nods towards Scott’s use of Medieval reproductions to create a historic feel on his estate. The choice of mirror for the inside of the cabinet alludes to Scott’s fascination with mirrors and illusions. The circular shapes of the mirror mosaics around the light holes on the inside of the cabinet are ‘reflected’ in the circular shapes of the mixed media mosaic on the outside. The latter includes a range of objects and fragments of materials collected recently from beaches in Scotland as well as objects from my childhood. The cabinet in itself becomes the curiosity.