The technique of maiolica (earthenware ceramics decorated with a white tin glaze) originated in 9th Century Iraq, and gradually ‘migrated’ across the Mediterranean into Moorish Spain, Renaissance Italy and eventually into Northern Europe. ‘Maiolica and Migration’ used the materiality of maiolica to bring attention to the issue of refugees and asylum seekers, making a direct comparison between the contemporary journeys of refugees and the historical journey of white tin-glazed earthenware from the Middle East to Northern Europe.

Dixon regularly uses ceramic tiles, plates and small vessels to develop narratives and test new ideas and combinations of images. This body of work combined screen-printed and laser-printed ceramic transfers, acknowledging the invention of ceramic transfer printing on Merseyside (Sadler and Green 1756-7) and developed a limited palette of copper-green and iron-brown transfers, inspired by early Italian Maiolica wares.

The project was supported by an ACE Developing Your Creative Practice award, and the outcomes exhibited across three venues in Liverpool (Walker Art Gallery, Bluecoat Display Centre and Williamson Art Gallery) from 2022 to 2023.