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. 

the temporal dimension of liminality

Its crazy to think that the end of the third semester is nearly upon me. Deadlines are fast approaching for papers, as well as my third semester stdio review to discuss the progress of my work.

2nd year MFA students are also expected to have their exhibition title, press image and statement ready for our thesis shows mid next year. 

It has taken me all semester to work out what I am trying to say. The concepts have been teased out through my studio work which has been working intuitively with found materials within the theme 222 Grips for a Stone.

Along side this I have been reading a book a week and writing a response for independent studies. Through my reading and writing I have slowly filtering my key areas of interest which has finally been distilled into one word: Liminal. 

Press Statement

Liminality is the moment in time when things transition from one state to the next. The dissolution of order creates a fluid, malleable situation where one's sense of identity dissolves, bringing about disorientation, but also the possibility of new perspectives. Often the liminal experience is subliminal,  existing or operating below the threshold of consciousness. 

My MFA thesis exhibition explores the social context of liminality relating to place, travel, loss and regeneration through physical and metaphysical objects.

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. 

222 Grips for a Stone (27-35) Melting experiments

The exploration for 222 Grips for a Stone (or mineral) continues. 

I have been giving a lot of thought to the definition of a stone and mineral and it is becoming increasingly broader scope - which is great because I am continuing to find more ways to develop my material exploration.

Glass consists of minerals and I am interested exploring the effects it has when bound by wire and then placed in the kiln.

I started my explorations working in the enamelling kilns, and my first lot of experiments did not heat up enough. The kiln sat around 1500 degrees farenheight and the only result was a softening of the edges of the broken glass. Which was interesting, but not the effects I was looking for.

#28 of 222 Grips for a Stone before melting

#28 of 222 Grips for a Stone 

My next lot of experiments were undertaken in a different enamel kiln where the heat is stronger, and a little more unpredictable. The kiln heated to about 900 degrees centigrade and within minutes my glass was starting to melt. 

#30 of 222 Grips for a Stone detail

With the idea of griping the glass by wrapping it with wire, I was also interested in exploring the idea where the glass also starts to grip the wire, by melting the wire into the glass.

#31 of 222 Grips for a Stone

Ideally I would like to capture drips like rain water. This is as close as I have gotten so far. 

#33 of 222 Grips for a Stone

In this last experiment the glass almost entirely melted away from the wire binding and slumped onto the copper metal below. 

The experiments are taking my work in an exciting new direction and I am looking forward to upscaling so that they are about house brick size.