Lyndsey Miles
Drawing inspiration from post human theory and our complex relationship with the natural world, Miles’ practice explores the delicate balance between humanity and the environment, weaving together narratives that speak to our collective knowledge, community and the urgency of climate crisis.
Clay serves as a central metaphor in her practice, representing the very essence of place and our connection to the earth. As she moulds and shapes this primordial material, she reflects on the layers of history and memory embedded within the landscape. Each piece becomes a testament to the moments and movements etched upon the surface of our world, a tangible record of our existence and impact. Miles makes work that resonates aross boundaries and speaks to our shared human experience. Remaining acutely aware of the specificity of place and the unique stories that emerge from communities and environments.
She uses locally forged clay and bio composite materials, bridging past and present, personal and univeral themes, with the responsibility of Earth paramount to material choices. Through her practice, she seeks to honour the often-overlooked presence of women and intergenerational connections throughout history. By delving into the past, she uncovers and reimagines the stories of those who came before us, breathing new life into forgotten narratives. This exploration has led to investigations of reclaiming the monstrous and challenging conventional notions of beauty and power.
‘Sunk into nothing (it lasts and ever shall)’
Locally foraged clay, hazelnuts
2025
32 x 33 x 16 cm
‘In this vision he showed me a little thing, the size of a hazelnut, and it was round as a ball. I looked at it with the eye of my understanding and thought “What may this be?” And it was generally answered thus: “It is all that is made.” I marvelled how it might last, for it seemed it might suddenly have sunk to nothing because of its littleness. And I answered in my understanding: “It lasts and ever shall, because God loves it.”’
The Lady Julian of Norwich
‘Habiliment’
(Worn in Hupodoche of all becoming)
Linen, cotton, leather, brass
2025
“Anchorhold”
‘Hupodoche of all becoming’
Photographic prints, mounted
2025
Various dimensions
‘Hyle (bellum omnium contra omnes)
Bramble, locally foraged clay, paper, string, plant matter
2025
39 x 52 x 48 cm
Often presented as acts of devotion, gratitiude or supplication to a deity, saint or spiritual power, votives serve multiple spiritual functions. They may be given as thanks for prayers answered, as requests for divine intervention, as symbols of dedication or as physical manifestations of a spiritual promise. The word “votive” derives from the Latin “votum,” meaning a vow.
Physically, votives take numerous forms, depending on cultural context and purpose; sometimes as symbols of intentions, figurines or statues representing people, animals or body parts (especially in healing requests), paintings or images depicting answered prayers or miraculous interventions.
In religious settings, votives create a visible testimony of faith and divine interaction. These physical expressions of spiritual experience form a bridge between the material and divine worlds, allowing worshippers to make tangible their invisible relationship with the sacred.
Using clay and the natural world as a central metaphor, Miles honours connections to the earth, with these handmade offerings. Sharing them with the public, during her performance, she hopes to connect the mind and body, nature and culture and the human and non-human.
Clay, wood, glass, stone, metal
2025
320 x 75 x 200cm
‘God as Mother: A Deal with God’
Paper, leather (Services of the Church), cotton, Liquid light, photographic prints
2025
13 x 24 x 6 cm
Considered dead to the earthly world, an anchorite would take part in a solemn ceremony before entering a period of solitude, prayer and contemplation inside an anchorhold. Offering counsel through exterior windows, they were not completely isolated from society.
Interested in how anchorites served as spiritual advisors to their communities, Miles has begun a period of physical confinement.
