Raucous Invention: The Joy of Making was an ambitious, vibrant, and creative journey from Mark Hearld, exploring connections through collaboration and risk taking. The exhibition was a celebration of the joy and inspiration that comes from working with like-minded makers and organisations.

From his studio in York, Hearld works across a range of media and uses the natural world as inspiration. The artist created a new body of work for this exhibition, including collages, prints, collage sculptures and a collage mural. The mural comprised of a series of individual images, each sitting as solo pieces but, when placed together, creating an incredible large-scale work.

The exhibition included a special collaboration with world-famous Leach Pottery in St. Ives, Cornwall – one of the most respected and influential potteries in the world. Hearld worked alongside their lead potter Roelof Uys to create a series of hand thrown platters, thrown by Uys in the studio of Bernard Leach, and decorated by Hearld using paper stencils, slips and sgraffito mark making on wet clay. The surface was then further embellished with intricate detail using glaze recipes from both Bernard Leach and studio potter Svend Bayer.

An exclusive range of artworks were made for the show, including a collection of woven jacquard tapestry wall hangings, featuring the iconic work of Hearld, and a small number of bespoke ceramic tankards, created using the skills of a mould maker and printer at the Potteries in Stoke-On-Trent.

A new book featuring much of the work currently exhibited at YSP was published by Hearld collaborators St. Jude's under their Random Spectacular Imprint in January 2022. Available at YSP Shop.