222 Grips for a Stone - the trauma of an object

For many the familiar presence of things is a comfort. Things are valued not only because of their rarity of cost or their historical aura, but because they seem to partake in our lives; they are domesticated, part of our routine and so of us. Their long association with us seems to make them custodians of our memories. Yet this does not mean that things reveal themselves, only our investments in them.   

Peter Schwenger.

Not only does our human existence articulate that of an object through the language of our perceptions, but the object calls out that language from us, and with it our own sense of embodied experience.

This would imply that we as humans project upon objects the experiences of human emotions and qualities, yet at the same time things reveal to us to ourselves in profound and unexpected ways.

My explorations rely on the historical, social and political associations we place upon objects when I create my assemblages. I challenge our associations by placing objects under extreme duress, often subjecting them to immense forces which transforms the nature of the object and consequently our understanding of it.

I am not interested simply in the destruction of materials, but more about their resurrection and transformation.

These everyday objects comfort us through their familiarity, yet there is a tension between the two versions of the object: that of its known past as a familiar functional object (by association) to its current state which bears the scars of the trauma it has been subjected.

The progression of images shows the working process I am currently employing in the studio. Ceramic 'stones' are found, and then 'gripped' or contained by the steel wire woven into basket forms. 

Combining broken glass, and a shino glaze, the object is then fired to Cone 6 in a reduction atmosphere kiln. The results culminate in a glaze that has surface cracks, the wire becomes brittle and sinks into the glaze in places. The broken glass pieces mix with the glaze and run off the object before solidifying again. 

222 Grips for a Stone - Handles

Continuing my exploration into 222 Grips for a Stone, I thought it would be fun to literally take the idea of putting 'grips on stone'.

Working with found lumps of clay, I attached handles generally used in kitchens to create references to domestic landscapes attached to the stone. 

I liked the idea that this one references a chest of drawers.

222 Grips for a Stone
#52

Previously, the metal I had put in the kiln and fired to cone 08 was steel, and the result was that it oxidised and blackened. However with aluminium handles, the metal completely burns away, leaving a residue similar to shaving cream. 

222 Grips for a Stone
#53

Also, because I am using large blocks of clay, occasionally they explode in the kiln, leaving behind an interesting assortment of rubble (as in the image above).

222 Grips for a Stone
#55

I really enjoyed the imagery of attaching handles along the 'ridge' of a block of clay, and it immediately brought to mind the nursery rhyme Mis Marry Mack. 

Miss Mary Mack Mack MackAll dressed in black, black, blackWith silver buttons, buttons, buttonsAll down her back, back, back.
She asked her mother, mother, motherFor 50 cents, cents, centsTo see the elephants, elephants, elephantsJump over the fence, fence, fence.
They jumped so high, high, highThey reached the sky, sky, skyAnd they didn't come back, back, back'Til the 4th of July, ly, ly!

222 Grips for a Stone
#56

Unfortunately, these two pieces were destroyed in the firing, and I now know to attach aluminium handles afterwards.

I find it interesting that my work continues to reference  post colonialism, domesticity and feminism, even whilst I am exploring the new theme of '222 grips for a stone' and limiting my materials to found objects.

222 Grips for a Stone - Metamorphosis (40-47)

"stone is the only thing in nature that constantly dies" - Frances Ponge  

The solidity, reliability and impassiveness of stone is constant, yet it is continually changing, although at a greatly reduced rate compared with human life. Despite its solidity, it is worn down by atmospheric agents such as air and water, reducing large pieces of stones into pebbles, and then finally into fine particles of sand. 

#40 of 222 Grips for a Stone
Before firing

#41 of 222 Grips for a Stone
After firing

Because of this Ponge believes that stone is the only thing in nature that constantly dies (73). He then considers all forms of stone (rock, pebble, sand), all represent some stage of its evolution, exist simultaneously in the world. He relates this notion of connectedness as paradise, where all conception exists (74). 

#42 of 222 Grips for a Stone
Before firing 

#45 of 222 Grips for a Stone
After firing 

Stone is continually changing form, yet at the same time it remains true to its original composition of minerals. In some senses you could say that stone is an illusory force in nature, having the ability to continually morph itself over time. Once it is ground down into smaller particles it has the potential to be transformed into larger stones again through sedimentary processes, or melted under extreme heat in the form of lava.

#46 of 222 Grips for a StoneBefore firing  

#47 of 222 Grips for a Stone
After firing

Because of the vast difference in materiality between the unfired and the fired clay pieces, after much discussion and consideration I have started counting the before fire and after fire as different pieces in my exploration of 222 grips for a stone. 

Interestingly, the copper wire, which contains or grips the clay before being fired, acts as another grip after firing, as the melted copper sticks the ceramics together.

Ponge, F. The Voice of Things. Herder and Herder. United States 1974.

The Thing Is - MFA Group Exhibition

NSCAD's Master of Fine Arts students are holding their annual group exhibition titled The Thing Is at the Anna Leonowens Gallery, November 17 – 28, 2015, with a public opening reception on Monday November 16 from 5:30 to 7pm.

the thing is invitation designed by Emily and Carly

This year, the group of sixteen MFA students will present work in a range of media from textiles, jewellery, ceramics, sculpture, and painting to photography and digital work. This group comprises nationalities spanning Australia, China, Estonia, Japan, and Canada, including four Nova Scotian artists.

They bring with them a variety of inspirations and ways of working, influenced both by the locality of NSCAD in Halifax and by their mother cultures. Representing a diverse range of themes, which include social engagement and working across disciplines in art and craft, the exhibition 'The Thing is' promises to be one that will engage the senses and the mind.

The Thing Is
Exhibition view looking through the window from Granville Mall

My work in the show continues to explore the concept '222 Grips for a Stone'. I have set parameters within the exploration, limiting my materials to found objects, wire and glass.

Presence of Absence Series

Whilst exploring the materiality of the objects I have also been contemplating themes that continue to surface in my work, including travel and movement, place, loss and regeneration.

Found clay object
shino glaze, wrapped with copper wire and steel handle
#36 of 222 Grips for a Stone 

The clay object (found in the clay recycling room) represents a sped up version of the natural geological occurrences in nature. It contains a sense of place, and is energised by fire and sensitised by touch.

Found clay object,
wrapped with steel wire, melted copper and glass
#37 of 222 Grips for a Stone

 Human occupation is a layering process on the landscape. The wire alludes to the impact of white settlement: roads, mapping and fences. At the same time it is reminiscent of women work, knitting and embroidery which uses line to create their own surfaces.

"The thread, or line transforms into traces, and surfaces are brought into being. At the same time the transformation of traces into threads also dissolves the surface" ~ Tim Ingold

Wire protects the stone, inhabiting the liminal space at the boundary of the object. It holds the stone together, but at the same time things are slipping through its grasp.

Found clay, railroad spike, glaze, steel wire
#38 of 222 Grips for a Stone

Glass has a materiality that under heat, or through time it will liquify which enables it to slip through the grasp of the wire. But at the same time it begins to also grasp the wire. Which embodies a continuous state of being.

Found clay object
nail and chain
#39 of 222 Grips for a Stone

The found objects have material, political and cultural resonances. 

The Presence of Absence, aligns with an extensive tradition of assemblage art that continues through to the work of Louise Bourgeois.

“To Bourgeois, assemblage is an act of ‘restoring…and rebuilding…it is a coming to terms with things…a work of love’ (it is a) a peaceful existence, not like carving, which she sees as an ‘attack on things' (Bernadac & Obrist 1998p.142-143)”

For more information on the exhibition, visit the NSCAD MFA blog. 

Odradek's Cousin?

I was riding along the street enjoying the Autumn sunny weather when suddenly I noticed an object in the street. Squashed, you could see the indents in the metal and the plastic which demonstrated how much force the object had experienced whilst lying on the road. 

Interestingly the red lipstick 'bled' from within the tube, and had smeared on the outside. How very human-like! I was immediately intrigued by the object, and delicately picked it up and carefully carried it back to my studio.

Squashed lipstick - could it be Odradek's cousin?

It got me thinking about 'things' which is a continuing internal dialogue I am experiencing at the moment, having been totally immersed in my theory class which is about the same topic - 'Things'.

Some of the heady questions we have been discussing lately are whether it is possible to kill a thing by naming it? And this made me think about how we personify objects.

There is an interesting short story written by Franz Kafka who wrote about Odradek - an object that defies description that lurks in the corridors of the home, an undefinable object that has been anthropomorphised and has been given the human qualities of talking, laughing, and lurking. Whilst it is not possible to define exactly who or what Odradek is, one possible interpretation is that Odradek represents any useless, harmless object that is kept around for no reason. 

In a sense my found object, the squashed lipstick, is a kindred spirit to Odradek who was found on the street and is currently lurking in my studio. Who knows what adventures it will get up to next? 

Despite its current form, it is likely that this object will outlive me.