Serena Korda (born. 1979, London) has a multi-media, installation-based practice that has ‘world-building’ at its core. Weaving together a host of influences her work channels and challenges the myths, folklore, witchcraft and magic from which she draws inspiration. Korda reviews historic narratives through a feminist lens, reworking them to create her own idiosyncratic mythology. Her sculptures predominantly adopt the notoriously unforgiving medium of clay, embracing its potential technical imperfections along with its decorative and domestic heritage. The inability of women to express agency in ancient myth is often counter-balanced by the quiet rebellion of their craft, this ‘weaponising’ of craft defines Korda’s own practice, weaving stories to create her own timeless ‘myths’ and in doing so challenging many of the societal conventions of today.
Ritual is continually investigated as part of Korda’s practice, specifically its historic role within violence. Many of Korda’s audio works investigate how to make invisible forces palpable and create an environment of care in a world that is turning on itself. As such her practice challenges an anthropocentric vision of the world; the animism of objects is celebrated, the violence of humans laid bare.
Serena was awarded the prestigious Paul Hamlyn Artists Award 2021 and was the Norma Lipan/BALTIC Fellow in Ceramic Sculpture at Newcastle University 2016- 2018. She has exhibited widely, including at Hayward Gallery (as part of Strange Clay: Ceramics in Contemporary Art), Camden Arts Centre, Glasgow International 2016, Wellcome Collection, Turner Contemporary and The Tetley, she has also created numerous public art commissions, including W.A.M.A the Work as Movement Archive 2012 and Black Diamond 2015. Recent solo shows include Missing Time at BALTIC Gateshead, Daughter’s of Necessity at The Hepworth Wakefield 2018, The Bell Tree Trust New Art and Bluecoat 2018 and Missing Time, a performance for The High Line NYC 2018.
Her inaugural solo show, The Maidens, opened at Cooke Latham Gallery in February 2023. She is represented by Cooke Latham Gallery.
Visit Serena Korda’s website and Instagram page.
Featured work
The Maidens, 2023
Ruffle My Hair and Basket Star, 2022
