The Angel of Long Point, Porcelain Sculpture by Lisa Creskey
The Angel of Long Point, 2025, porcelain, hand built and sculpted, underglaze painted, clear glazed, gold luster glazed, 25 cm x 40 cm x 30 cm.
The work references Abigail Becker, a 19th-century trapper on Lake Erie’s shores near Port Rowan, Ontario, who rescued sailors from numerous shipwrecks - including the schooner Conductor - by navigating icy undertows to bring survivors to safety. Her actions earned international recognition.
In this composition, Becker is submerged in turbulent waves that transition into wings while clutching a fractured mast. In the remote Canadian landscape, where isolation was the primary condition, survival necessitated a quiet architecture of mutual aid. By re-examining these historical moments through the tactile, transformative process of ceramics, the work identifies new modes of articulating connectivity, suggesting that the past remains a vital resource for understanding the obligations people hold toward one another today.