Kirkens Project
Working within the post industrial genre of contemporary ceramics, this project was the result of an invitation to be an artist in residence at Guldagergaard, International ceramic research centre, Skaelskor, Denmark in 2008.
The project focuses on the upcycling of second hand objects working with Skaelskor’s Kirkens Korshaer charity shop. Silhouettes are the visual language I choose to create pattern, creating a simplistic signifier to communicate to the viewer, in this case the silhouettes were developed of three generations of one family working there and their selected favourite objects. The research examined importance of the individual within a community through a visual language of pattern and colour, and focused on the ‘found’ objects themselves for their inherent cultural /social value and historical narrative. Revealing or highlighting these embodied qualities through the reworking of the ceramic surface is central to upcycling as noted by Jorunn Veiteberg in the Art Value project (co-ordinated by Veiteberg at the art school in Bergen, Norway from 2008-11).
The initial dissemination of this project was through an informal ‘Open House’ event held at Guldagergaard, to encourage the local community to visit the research centre and purchase work from the project. The work went on to be selected for exhibition at Transformations – Metamorphoses Group show in Galerie Handwerk in Munich, 2011, which included work by highly regarded makers Hans Stofer, David Clarke and Frederique Morell.
