About
Francisca Onumah is a Sheffield based silversmith who creates tactile sculptural vessels. Drawn to finding character and a human-like semblance in inanimate objects, she creates ambiguous, abstract vessels that reflect vulnerabilities and strengths through the iran thropomorphic forms. Working from sheet metal, she layers different marks, patterns, and textures by repeatedly hammering, fold forming and impressing textile patterns onto the surface of objects she creates. Her approach to mark making displays a raw tactile signature displayed on sombre figurative forms. The anthropomorphic nature of the vessels she creates are further explored in the grouping of these subtly emotive forms, which sit together as if in conversation.
An alumna of the Crafts Council’s 2020 Hothouse programme, her distinct aesthetic and emerging talent has been recognised and acknowledged with prizes such as the prestigious Jerwood Arts Makers Open prize. Her work has been showcased in major exhibitions including the Crafts Council’s Makers Eye exhibition and ‘We Gather,’ an immersive and pivotal exhibition addressing the inequalities in craft. Francisca’s work has been featured in prominent publications including Crafts Magazine,World of Interiors and Goldsmiths Stories. Her work can be found in notable collections at The Sheffield Assay Office and The Walker Art Gallery. Francisca graduated from an MA in Jewellery, Silversmithing and Related Products at the School of Jewellery, Birmingham City University in 2015
