Kate Ruck

What does this exhibition and its theme mean to you? What made you want to include your work in it?

This exhibition and its theme resonate deeply with me because the concept of home is not only personal but central to the way I think about connection, memory, and belonging. Home is both tangible and intangible—it’s the ground we walk on, the communities we form, and the stories we carry with us. To me, this exhibition offers a chance to reflect on how the idea of home is rooted in shared histories and collective gestures, even when the details of those stories differ and have plurality.

Including my work in this exhibition felt like a natural extension of my practice. The works from We learn the names of those we never knew speak to home in a way that connects cultural and geographic contexts. They explore the knowledge embedded in land and materials, as well as the ways storytelling can create a sense of place even across great distances. This project was born from a dialogue between Central and North American indigenous traditions and my experiences working in Finland. It reflects how home can take on new forms when viewed through different lenses, and how it’s sustained through acts of remembering, sharing, and making.

What does home mean to you personally? Has your understanding of home changed over time or during different phases of your life?

For me, home is fluid, something that exists within us and takes shape in the world through the relationships we nurture and the memories we carry. It can be as fleeting as a familiar scent or as grounding as the words of a loved one. Being far from the place that once felt most familiar has transformed my understanding of home. It’s no longer tied to a specific location but to the ways we create and sustain connection—with people, places, and even materials. Over time, I’ve come to see home as something we build and keep alive through acts of care, storytelling, and community. It is as much about sharing and giving as it is about remembering and holding onto what matters.

In the exhibition, home is viewed as a physical, spiritual, and emotional space. Which of these perspectives does your work connect with most strongly, and why?

My work connects most strongly with the spiritual and emotional dimensions of home, though the physical is deeply intertwined as well. The sculptures in We learn the names of those we never knew act as tangible manifestations of stories and traditions, drawing on indigenous agricultural practices as a way of remembering and honoring collective knowledge. The spiritual aspect lies in the metaphor of the harvest—a gesture of collaboration and renewal—and in the materials themselves, which carry their own energy and histories. Emotionally, the works are rooted in the act of reclaiming and reconnecting, serving as a conduit between past and present, memory and presence. By creating a ‘spirit line’ through my practice, I hope to evoke a sense of connection that transcends the boundaries of the physical, inviting viewers to engage with home as something alive, shared, and deeply resonant.