Artist Profile: In conversation with

Belinda Guerin & Wee Shiang Tay

Image: Image by Connor Patterson. Last year, the JamFactory x Helpmann Academy Scholarship valued at $2,500 each was awarded to emerging artists Belinda Guerin and Wee Shiang Tay, both undertaking JamFactory’s Foundation Year Associate Program in ceramics, glass furniture, or jewellery/metal.

Belinda Guerin (Faebel) is an emerging ceramicist living and working on Kaurna country. In 2023, she completed her Bachelor of Contemporary Art from the University of South Australia. Throughout her studies, she worked under the instruction of Jo Crawford, focusing on slab building and sgraffito techniques. Belinda is inspired by ancient forms of storytelling, exploring ways of expressing modern folk tales reflecting the human experience. Her background in illustration allows her to focus on creating intricate surfaces combined with sculptural elements.

How did you both first get interested in your current art form?

Belinda: I feel like we both started at the University of South Australia. I hadn’t tried ceramics before that. Growing up, I was interested in drawing, and after leaving school I studied a Bachelor of Contemporary Art at the University of South Australia. Then through that program, you can try a bit of everything. We got to try glass blowing, jewellery and printmaking. There were just a lot of options. Shiang: I was doing art school back in Malaysia. Initially, I was a painter, I have a background in watercolour, oil painting, and acrylics. It wasn’t until mid-2022 that I got into ceramics. I moved from doing art in 2D to 3D.

Who or what are your biggest influences? How have they shaped your work?

Belinda: For my work, I look at many historical references. I like looking at museum archives for older illustrations and older functional ceramics because all of them sort of have a narrative element, which I’m drawn to. I am looking at how I can explore those ideas in my work today. Shiang: The first person who came to mind is a Melbourne-based artist who goes by Hieu, but on YouTube and Instagram, he’s known as @kelogstoops. He’s a watercolour painter, and I’ve been watching his videos religiously since I was a teenager. Even though I’m now working in a 3D medium, I still really admire his work. In 2019, I had the chance to meet him and attend one of his exhibitions, which was a great experience. He’s a symbol for signifying my art.

Image credit: Connor Patterson.

What themes or ideas do you explore in your art?

Belinda: I love looking at older works and seeing how they might be telling different fairy tales or folk tales. You can learn a lot about the rituals people used to have and even when there are no illustrations, you can still learn a lot about the process they used to make those objects. So, I’m interested in making works where I can tell my own stories. Many of my pieces look like something that could have existed for hundreds of years, but I am conveying things that I have experienced in my lifetime. I really like to hear what other people read from my work because they could interpret something completely different from what I was thinking.

How do you find inspiration for your pieces?

Shiang: My work is much more on the playful side, I get inspiration from cartoons, animation, figurines and animals. I try to surround myself with nature and animals, whether it be through social media or in real life. But social media does play a big part in finding inspiration because I’m constantly on my phone. I don’t know if that’s a good thing or not, but it really does help, especially when looking at things that are not ceramic. So, when I’m looking for inspiration, I don’t look at anything ceramic. I look at silly little animal videos, and I’m like, “Oh, I like the way they’re moving or their texture…” and I subconsciously pick up those details in my brain, and I try to work that into my next piece.

Wee Shiang Tay, Harimau, 2024. Image by Connor Patterson.

You both received the JamFactory x Helpmann Academy Scholarship for 2024. What has your experience been like so far?

Belinda: Really good! Especially now that we sort of had this payoff through our SALA show, and we are exhibiting next to these amazing makers who I remember looking up to right before I applied to the program. That has been a very surreal experience. As well as getting the opportunity to sell my work through the JamFactory shop, which has been really rewarding. Through the associate program, we were kind of thrown into the deep end in a really good way. Suddenly, we were immersed in our practices and surrounded by all these amazing makers and opportunities.

How has the scholarship and residency at JamFactory affected your practice/arts career?

Shiang: It has had such a big impact that we don’t know where to start. It has been a great opportunity to hone your skills and to have financial relief, which has greatly helped both of us, you know, especially when we just got out of university and were broke as hell. Before receiving the JamFactory Associate Program and knowing Helpmann Academy, I was panicking. I was not sure how I was going to continue doing what I love afterwards, because I had, no equipment, no clay, no nothing. Belinda: I have no idea where I would be right now if I didn’t get into this program. I don’t know what my practice would look like, because I don’t know where I would have practised. You can always make something work at home. But you know when you’re renting and only earning a low income, things can be really difficult. So, being able to be here all the time with all this support and equipment really allowed my practice to thrive and come into itself. Receiving the scholarship just took a huge weight off my shoulders.

What materials and techniques do you most enjoy working with, and why?

Belinda: I feel like slab building is my number one. I plan out my slab build using sketches and I usually know exactly what it’s going to end up like. I like to plan illustrations before I paint them onto the piece too, because each element has to come together just right. Shiang: We are both hand builders and I think we’re pretty good at what we do. But personally when I see something that I’m particularly weak at I feel like I need to learn that because I think that the more knowledge you have, it gets easier for you to do that in the future. So, I am trying to incorporate wheel throwing along with other skills into my work. It doesn’t matter to me which technique I use the most.

Belinda Guerin, Intertwined, 2024, reduction fire stoneware. Image by Belinda Guerin.

Do you have any rituals or routines that help you get into the creative flow?

Belinda: Oh yeah, it’s going to be a yummy drink! If we’ve hit a wall in the studio, we’re always like: “Okay, sweet treat, then we keep going.”. It sounds so silly, but really it works. Shiang: Other than the sweet treat, I also really like walking. So, whenever we’re walking down to a cafe, or I’m walking home, my mind just immediately stops thinking. And I need that sometimes because my brain is always buzzing a bit too much. Walking is great. I would promote walking.

What are you currently working on? Can you share a bit about your latest project?

Shiang: I’m currently working on a sculpture that’s a wolf head. I was inspired by how alligators or sharks have these little fishes or little birds that fly into their mouth and start picking food off. And I just imagined them having a little tea party in there, you know, just jamming out. I wanted to make that, so I thought of creating a wolf head because I like making furry creatures at the moment and having these random characters/creatures that are having a little tea party in there. Belinda: Now that I’ve finished the exhibition work for Earthbound, I want to keep exploring those forms because I feel like it was just the very beginning. But I also am thinking about more functional objects that I can sell as well. That’s something you’ve got to do, so I’ve been exploring new illustrations and new processes. I’d love to just focus on improving my wheel-throwing and creating more tableware for a bit.

Are there any significant changes in your style or approach since being at JamFactory?

Belinda: Looking back at where we were when we came to the program, there’s just been so much skill development that’s happened in that time. I feel my practice still has the same core ideas and points of inspiration but it’s just so much more refined now. I can’t overstate how much I have learned. Shiang: When you go into our studio, we’ve put our graduate works on top and you can just see the difference. I must agree with Belinda, my core values and beliefs are still the same in my work. But in terms of skill, I feel more confident now as an artist to execute bigger work.

How has the Helpmann Academy impacted your art practice/career?

Belinda: Having the opportunity to make content for Helpmann Academy makes us feel like we’re a part of the community and gives us the chance to showcase what being here at JamFactory is like. Also knowing all the Helpmann Academy grant opportunities are there, even if I don’t potentially know what my future projects will be, it allows me never to rule anything out because I know there are funding opportunities. Shiang: Same here! Especially going to all the training workshops, such as the Exhibition Preparation. Just knowing that there is someone that you can go to can make you feel less anxious.

What advice would you give to emerging artists considering applying for Helpmann Academy programs?

Belinda: Just go for it! There’s no harm in putting an application in. One of the best pieces I got during university was that even if your application isn’t successful, it gives you the opportunity to directly seek out what you can improve on for next time. Shiang: Do everything that you can so you don’t have any regrets. Just apply for it so you don’t feel like you didn’t take a chance. It can eat into your confidence if you don’t try and can feel like self-sabotage. So go for it!

What do you hope people take away from your art?

Belinda: I think for me I like the idea that people can envision and integrate my works into their everyday lives. I also like hearing what people think about or take away from my work, or where they would place them in their homes. Shiang: I would like people to feel happiness when they look at my work, even if it’s just a little bit. That’s why I create things that are playful and cute because it makes me happy when I see them and I hope that translates into my work that people view or buy.

You can view and purchase the works of Belinda and Shiang on their websites and socials:

Belinda Guerin
Website: https://faebel.com.au/ 
Instagram: @faebel.xo
TikTok: @faebel.xo

Wee Shiang Tay
Website: https://www.shimshim.com.au/ 
Instagram: @_____shimshim
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@_____shimshim