Headstands and other feats of normal life

Headstands and Other Feats of Normal Life presents a new body of ceramic work that extends my ongoing investigation into the female head as both vessel and symbol. Drawing on the ancient tradition of women’s heads adorning funerary vessels, I reinterpret these forms—historically associated with reverence and remembrance—into contemporary objects that hold the complexity of lived experience.

The genesis of this body of work lies in a prolonged period of migraines, during which the bust or head became a site through which I could visualise and materialise discomfort and pain. Working with the head as form offered a way to externalise physical distress, while also creating space to acknowledge moments of lightness, humour, and quiet joy. These dualities—pain and pleasure, fragility and strength—run throughout the work and are informed by my experiences of family, friendship, health, and hardship.

Several sculptures invert the head into a headstand, a demanding pose that requires balance, strength, and focus. This act of inversion operates both literally and metaphorically, placing pressure on the head while offering relief to the feet. It reflects my growing awareness of shifting bodily negotiations, including the onset of new forms of pain in a perimenopausal body. From these inverted heads emerge skirt-like forms, suggesting containment, support, and the accumulation of meaning over time.

Through a language of balance and poise, my ceramic works reflect on the resilience required to navigate contemporary life. They honour the everyday feats of endurance that often go unseen, celebrating the capacity to recalibrate, persist, and find beauty and purpose even when the world feels—physically and emotionally—turned upside down.

Belinda Smith 2026