Morag MacInnes in Rio Gordo

Morag MacInnes’ exhibition was a thrilling mix of myth and symbolic imagery. This was the first Spanish outing for her “raw dogs” and it looked as though these audacious mutts were frolicking on the table tops just for the shear hell of it. Frozen in high jinx their mouths held motionless, paws raised. Nothing was going to tame this crowd of devilish hounds who dared you to take them home.

By rights they should be guarding some gothic Tim Burton mansion. Collectively they give off the feeling of a marauding band which is very different to a solitary dog that changes from malevolence to charm out of the corner of your eye.

One of the most striking things about the dogs for me is their teeth, sometimes made from nails or stones embedded into to clay gums. Despite their ferocity all the animals have a tactile quality to them and it is difficult not to caress their burnished heads and bodies and trace your fingers over the smoked surface patterns made by repeated sawdust firings.
This truly great collection of dogs was complemented by Morag’s more usual ceramics, platters and bowls decorated with oxides. See these and more dogs on Morags web site