Connor Coulston (B.1992, Oldham, UK) is an artist with a practice that can be defined as an ongoing articulation of the relationship between self-deprecating humour as a means of enquiry, the mutability of clay, and the wild imaginary. Coulston’s work emerges from a fascination with the kitsch ceramic ornaments one might find in thrift stores, museums, or that might adorn a grandparent’s fireplace. He subverts these often ‘mundane’ pieces through a rigorous questioning of their legacy and hidden narratives, connecting these historical signifiers to symbols of the contemporary struggles that he has personally experienced, such as depression, queer identity and his grandmother’s problematic love for right-wing politicians. Coulston creates surreal and kitsch sculptures which, on first inspection, appear to communicate levity only revealing their more critical and sinister undertones once his audience has been lured into a misguided sense of security.