Established in 1998, the Jerwood Space in Union Street, Southwark provides a counterpoint to the nearby Tate Modern by supporting talented new artists who may perhaps, one day when they become established, be displayed in the galleries of Tate Modern.

In its fifth year, the Jerwood Makers Open competitively selects new artists whose work bridges art and applied arts and provides them with an opportunity to explore, experiment and display a new work in the Jerwood Space, before it is shown elsewhere in the country. This year’s five artists had to beat off competition from a field of 267 artists – Zachary Eastwood-Bloom, Malene Hartmann Rasmussen, Jasleen Kaur, Ian McIntyre and Silo Studio each received an award of £7,500 towards a new project which is now on display in Jerwood Space.

Over the five years, the Jerwood Makers Open initiative has provided £180,000 of funding to support 24 major new commissions.

This year’s artists seem to have a common theme linking ceramics or plastic taking on the same form to some deeper meaning.  Zachary Eastwood-Bloom has created a large perforated wall grid from ceramic cubes which, although they are hand-made, could well have been made by a 3D printer, Malene Hartmann Rasmussen’s theatrical installation is a fairytale ceramic forest with an intriguing and undefined narrative and Jasleen Kaur has created three busts cast in hand-marbled plastic, each depicting a figure representing opposing cultural forces: Jasleen’s great-grandfather who was the first family member to migrate from India to Glasgow, Edward Said, a Palestinian American who ‘lived between two worlds’; and Lord Napier whose great-grandfather was an important figure in the history Britain and India.

Ian McIntyre has taken inspiration from the industrial potter Isaac Button to create piles of white plates in towering columns, while multidisciplinary design studio Silo – formed by Royal College of Art graduates Attua Aparicio and Oscar Wanless – has developed a production technique inspired by Isaac Newton for the inertial casting of stunningly beautiful bowls, where the spinning force creates swirling patterns that glow in the light.

“I would like to congratulate the 2015 artists and wish them every success, encouraging them to make the most of the incredible support of the Jerwood team to take risks creatively and technically and see their practice in a new light. Being a part of the 2014 award has given me confidence and opened so many doors, laying the foundations for my current project with scientists and mathematicians supported by Arts Council England.”   (Shelley James – a selected artist for the 2014 award).

These five artists have created intriguing and beautiful works which reflect their own interest in the relationship between art and society, manufacturing and technology.