The brick continues

With more brick compositions coming through I'm beginning to think about how these can fit in to the next couple of exhibitions. They may simply be part of the work in progress that directly feeds the final work or they may be shown on mass as a collection.

These two pieces of Cheddar red brick from Ibstock in Bristol are off cuts from my final MA design Pause. Cutting these bricks was quite difficult each brick weighed 12kgs making it a hefty cube. The cutting wire tended to move a lot as I sliced through and the clay was so grainy and heavy with grog I ended up with these wonderful circular marks across the surface. The marks from the stacking shelves are still imprinted on the bottom in the form

of tiny dots. 

I collected some of these remnants from my time spent in the factory they seemed too interesting to throw into reclaim. The pieces shown in the photographs below were shaved off the side sections and the bottom edge of the seating space.

The images directly below were pieces I have carved some of these bricks had to be 

re-carved or reworked. 

These two pieces were cut by Ben. Whilst he helped me during the first couple of days setting up. 

 Here's a shot of Pause once finishes and installed.

Making ideas with brick.

My first blog post for 2016.

So far I've been working on several different projects some I can begin to drip feed images through. Here are some ideas emerging for a couple of pending exhibitions later in the year.

My continuing fascination with brick is a starting point. Some of these pieces have been found some have been given to me and others have been carved by myself. 

What I'm immediately thinking about is weight. 

Or how these pieces and compositions can join together to make one large piece of work.

Revisiting these porcelain chunks that were initially split into sections. However,  I've never fully explored the fact that they all belong together. Considering that they were cut from one piece of clay there is an immediate connection.

The cuts and joins, the raw outer edges, the traces of being handled.
These elements have been a consideration of mine for a while now and it may have been something that remained part of that feeding process whilst developing another idea. 

I often find that pieces of work that have been produced quickly as part of a bigger thought can still hold their own as a stand alone object. There is a huge value in these pieces and to move them into another context can often unlock those initial thoughts that may or may not have fed the final work that they were originally born from. 

As well as being consumed by the idea of weight in clay I have also been throwing other key words around such as suspension, gravity and balance. 

Using existing work to begin this process I ventured outside with a bag of string, hooks, wire, sheeting, fabric and with Ben's help we began to explore how we could convey these singular descriptive words through objects and compositions. The works will not be shown outside but I find it so much easier to have space as opposed to being restricted to a room or studio. It also helps to have the addition of the elements to contend with because this could help change the direction of the thinking or help to stumble across something that would never have previously been a consideration. 

This is a starting point! I still have a long way to go but I always enjoy the time that allows you to really experiment with ideas without feeling they are too precious. Thoughts and ideas come and go quite swiftly at this stage. 

Week 2: Compositions with Objects.

Last week I started looking at the relationship between some of my smaller ceramic objects originally through the use or instruction of a particular word and some of the found objects that have been given to me or collected by myself. 

This week i'm extending this exploration to a series of porcelain objects originally matched up with Sasha's photography shown last year in Arthouse1. http://www.arthouse1.co.uk

Whilst I'm working on this smaller scale I'm always considering how these structures could be scaled up. 

The collection of five images below have been taken from every angle or rotating the porcelain piece around in order for me to understand the points of contact between the objects or surfaces. There are resting points here, some fit more comfortably than others. The porcelain piece has two distinct surfaces one side is glazed and the other is untouched from being wrapping in it's bag. There are varying thicknesses throughout the slice and it's possible to get a sense of that as there are small areas that the light reflects through. Another point of interest here is the space that is created in-between the two objects where light and shadow come into play. 

Here by contrast I'm looking at how the porcelain objects fit into brick and contains it.
There is a more intimate connection here where light shadow and space does not exist between the two. 

New compositions with objects.

This is really a continuation from Traces of Making. The ceramic objects initially made by myself and a selection of friends helping me along this line of experimentation where each object has been made from a simple instruction of one word. 

By giving these unmarked balls of clay to other people to interpret, when they return I am able to examine the subtle differences or similarities without making assumptions based on my own knowledge of the material. However, these have been sitting in a crate waiting for the right opportunity to move this research and develop a new collection of work. 

So! I've gathered all the found objects that have also been slowly accumulating in the studio over time and looking at how or whether these made objects have any relationship with the found objects. 

Most of the brick remnants have been given to me by two friends in Oxford often finding their way into my possession from the Norfolk coast. 

It occurred to me that I have a growing selection of materials sitting around and most of them have come from the ground in some way. Chalk is the most recent addition to this I have a bag of coal, slate, brick and my increasing fascination with geology ultimately means that they all have this connection.

Over the next few weeks I intend to continue with the photography and add to these assembled compositions to see where it takes me. 

My Inspiration

For a while now I've been trying to make sense of the many many different strands of focus and interests that make up my practice.

Because I don't make collections of work or have a range of objects I'm reconised by or known for I think I can often feel as though I have many separate elements.

However, on closer inspection I really don't think that is necessarily the case.

There are key ideas and points of reference I take for my conceptual thinking and in this post I hope to be able to show some of the inspiration, sources of research and smilarities that run throughout my multi layered working methods. 

If I begin with ceramics as this is always at the core of my thinking despite the fact I may not always use it or indeed fire it. Most of my exploratory work begins around either clay, clay materials in their raw form or clay soils.  

 Puddle clay from Stoke on Trent 

Raw clay before it's processed into bags or made it's way through a pug mill. 

This is one stage I love about this material, It can be seen in clay pits in such large quantites and it hi-lights how enormous, heavy, and dense this is but for me it really inspired ideas of being able to built on a large scale. 

On the other end of the spectrum I adore using porcelain it's a material that really needs to be handled with care and experience. Where I'm at this present moment with porcelain is trying to reliquish control and push it to it's breaking point.  

Brick a clay material I fell in love with during my MA. 
By using multiples allows you to build sizeable pieces of work but I'm also drawn to materials that may be considered mundane or ordinary. Most of us may be confronted with brick on a daily basis but it becomes somewhat invisible or we take it for granted as a standard building block for houses and buildings. 

Once you step away and begin to look more carefully at the range of bricks the different colours and textures used and how they have been positioned together it becomes more evident that the common brick offers so much more. 

  

The Red House 

Cambridge 

Continuing with the possible idea of the mundane the next subject has recently become prominent after my exhibition last year at Siobhan Davies dance where I was looking at local London clay and soils specific to Southwark. This has opened up a new fascination with soils and geology across the UK. 

Wherever, I visit I take a roll of small plastic bags and a small trowel with me to remove a sample and come home to test it out on to canvas.

Layers for the Human Nature Season at Siobhan Davies 2014

The act of making is obviously an huge part of what I do and this can often be overlooked when confronted with a final piece of work. Process and working methods are equally important, sometimes I find it can be more important and revealing that's one reason I always like to give an insight into each project from start to finish. 

Mark-making 

Whether this is on paper, Canvas or clay. Texture and surface normally plays a part in what  I explore and it maybe linked back to my fascination with the handling of materials and tactility. 

Moving on to art movements other artists designers and architects I've already mentioned Richard Serra, Anselm Kiefer and Peter Zumthor in previous posts. 

I haven't talked about Minimalism or Land Art in any great depth. Two movements that have had an influence on my work to date and continues to.
I've recently been reading a book called Minimalism: Origins by Edward Strikland.  

One difficult question I was asked was: What is your aesthetic? 
I find that fairly tricky to answer however, I will attempt to and the two words that immediately come to mind are Minimal and Raw. 

I try not to overly complicate work but when you are working with materials that have normally come straight from the ground I like to keep them as pure as possible you are ultimately dealing with an unrefined quality. 

Here are two examples of work I'm particularly fond of in the Forest of Dean and think they both encapsulate my description.

Raw By Neville Gabie, located 2001

http://www.forestofdean-sculpture.org.uk/index.php/sculptures/96

By David Nash, charred larch 
http://www.forestofdean-sculpture.org.uk/index.php/sculptures/60

Forest of Dean Sculpture Trail

Architectural spaces, Phenomenology 

Something I always strive for in my work is to involve the audience or to allow the viewer to be able to react with the work on a sensory level. I'm not interested in making precious work that can't be touched, walked through, sat on. This is a common notion born from the context of the gallery and I'm certainly not a fan of the plinth. 
The plinth for me conjures up the notion of unapproachable work that can simply be viewed or enjoyed from afar. 

Phenomenology is a subject I attempted to begin to understand about four or five years ago. It's often talked about in the context of architecture and architectural practice.
It's a huge area to try and condense down into a few sentences. 
Essentially it has been born from philosophy and psychology based around the work of Edmund Husserl, and later developed by Heidegger.

Phenomenology is the human perception of a place space or experience. it's not tangible and this makes it a complex area to try and define.
Despite that being the case it's something I try and capture within parts of my research and development of an idea or project. 

Whether this is through tactility, sound, light, dark, small confined spaces, or the positioning of the work itself. Every small detail and subtle nuance is considered. 

Winchester Cathedral Crypt.

Finally gardens are another important part of my practice. Fascinated with space, colour, planting, I grow plants myself this has to help with my understanding and appreciation. Gardens are more than simply places to step outside into. 
Gardens are to be truly experienced and there is a sense of freedom that can be gained from a garden. During my MA I spent a lot of my research visiting different kinds of garden spaces. From the highly formal layout of Sissinghurst to the French show in Chaumont exhibiting more experimental spaces.

They are spaces that are in a constant state of transformation not only with the plants life cycle but also with the weather conditions and changing of the seasons means that gardens are never static. You experience these fleeting moments and then it moves into the next phase and this continues all year round. 

Japanese Garden Vancouver 

Ightham Mote

The High Line New York

Initial visit to Siobhan Davies Dance

Just before christmas I paid my first visit to the Siobhan Davies Dance studios to begin photographing the space. Giving me a few weeks to sit down with these images and begin to gather my thoughts for the forthcoming project in 2014. 

This building is an abundance of interesting combinations of materials brick, wood, plaster, glass, metal, concrete.

 Image taken by Ben Winkley 2013 

 Image taken by Ben Winkley 2013 

 Image taken by Ben Winkley 2013

The building was built in 2009 designed by Sarah Wigglesworth every detail within the space has been carefully considered.

 Image taken on second visit 2014 

 

 Image taken by Ben Winkley 2013 

What I really began to focus on was the layers within the building. There are lines visually dividing the space particularly on the staircase, this structure is the focal point it is the buildings core where people are travelling up and down throughout the space.

The light was another element you cannot fail to notice there is so much light flooding in through the windows and the back window stretches floor to ceiling running in conjunction with the staircase. 

At this stage I had very little idea where i was going with work and wasn't until January time I started to piece together some of the visual material and begin to unpack the core concepts.

Brickwork

After being given the challenge of taking five consecutive photographs of brick by my friend Sarah a couple of weeks ago. I realised that I haven't talked about brick or brickwork which seemed a little strange considering it has been so prominent within my practice for a couple of years now, and along the way I have been gathering some interesting images of different brickwork where and when I see it so I thought I would share them.....

I want to draw attention to how varied and fascinating this material can be. I think it is often overlooked or unnoticed because we are so familiar with it being used for domestic housing.

It's the oldest building material around it is dug from the ground, brick factories are located right next to clay pits so they can be in close proximity to extract the clay from the ground.

 Different regions have different clays running through, Stoke and Bristol is Red. London clay has quite a lot of lime in it making it yellowy grey. Sussex clay is grey. Every clay has a different quality. Creating various surfaces firing temperatures and coloration's. It's a material that can undergo extreme changes from colour to form it heats up in the sun and cools in the cold. It's incredibly versatile as a building material and allows any scale structure to be built. That's probably one of the main reasons why I'm fascinated with it and continue to be so. 

The two images below are examples of my own work fired and unfired brick this is the back of Pause which can be seen in Lady Margaret Hall in Oxford. This is a Cheddar Red brick made in Bristol at Ibstock's Specials Department.

Here is an exquisite example of brickwork and has to be one of my personal favourites Giles Gilbert Scott or known for designing Liverpool Cathedral, The William Booth Memorial Training College on Denmark Hill and Battersea Power Station. Shown below is the facade of Tate Modern on Bankside designed 1947-1960 and comprising of approx 4.2 millions bricks his signature linear design work is unmistakable. 

The three dimensional quality achieved through layering also captures the aesthetic of the period it was designed it represents modernity. Built during a time Specials Departments within the brick industry was thriving. The rounded edged bricks and bullnose bricks would have all been made by hand within moulds.

This image shows Giles Gilbert Scott's work in Lady Margeret Hall Oxford, this beautiful brick building is the colleges chapel. Again it's clear to see the style is reminiscent with the rounded edges framing the long slim windows but what I adore about this particular building is the subtle curve that moves into the elegant bulbous base something we don't often see within brickwork. I think we have become conditioned that brick is straight and somewhat rigid in it's form but that really isn't the case. 

This is a section of brickwork of a church in Romney Marsh these bricks are very narrow compared to the standard domestic brick we are used to seeing today. Mortar can also completely change the overall appearance of a brick in this case they both become equally important to the aesthetic.

Milan quite different in style to much of England's brickwork the small holes within the walls have been created by leaving gaps this has been used in some contemporary buildings as a way of allowing light into the the interior space.

This wall can be found at the back of the Oxo Tower in London. The reason this caught my attention was the bricks looked as though they had begun their life glazed and over time this has eroded away leaving this interesting surface quality of rough and smooth light and dark. 

I rescued this collection of bricks from Ibstock whilst working there. The imperfections during firing was the reason they were being thrown away and also the reason they made their way to my studio. They were far to unusual to end up in the bin and the fact they reminded my of Rothko's paintings another reason I gave them a home.

Brick wall in South London 

Three types of brick in South London including this beautiful Edwardian red with bevelled edges. 

Mossy brick wall in Wapping next to the river.

Red Edwardian brickwork in Lady Margaret Hall Oxford this was one of the reasons Pause had to be made from red brick. In order to create a narrative between site and object.
this college is also rich in different style and age of brickwork.

Brick wall and floor 

The new Student extension within Lady Margaret Hall these are contemporary hand made bricks. 

Check out my Pinterest page I have a board dedicated to brick showing examples from all around the world. http://pinterest.com/kimnortondesign/brickwork/

Pause being installed

The installation process began Monday 1st August in to Lady Margaret Hall's garden in Oxford.
After several weeks of slightly stressful organisation. Having to synchronise all the materials and machinery on site in order to begin work. I was surprised by how smoothly everything ran throughout the entire process with only a couple of minor hiccups. 

However, throughout this journey I have nothing but praise for all the companies and industrial contacts I have made. Everyone involved has been so supportive offering advice donating materials and showing a genuine interest in seeing this project through.

As the final design is installed in Oxford I wanted to involve local companies

Material sponsorship came from Tuckwells www.tuckwells.co.uk and Blanchfords www.blanchford.co.uk in the form of concrete for the foundations and cement, lime for the mortar.

It took a couple of days for the concrete to dry before the bricks could be laid which gave me a little more time to transport all the bricks from Ibstock in Bristol to Oxford. There were five palettes in total and the overall weight was approx 4 tonnes more than i had expected despite having done my calculations before the firing. This resulted in two separate journeys from Ibstock spread across three days.

Once all the bricks had arrived safely they needed to be placed in order of layer and number. This made the process alot easier when it came to laying the bricks. If you imagine every brick is completely different in size and shape it was very much like a life size jigsaw puzzle.

Friday end of the first day of construction........... 
Darren, Pete and Dan of Creative Brickwork Oxford www.creativebrickwork.net


Monday 7th August
It was good to have a few days rest in order to allow the mortar to dry properly before adding more weight.
As I anticipated the open seating was fairly straight forward it was the secluded space that proved to as difficult to put back together as it was to build in the first place.
There are several bricks in the right hand curve with barely any base to support itself. Therefore a mini scaffolding system comprising of stacked bricks and little help from wire and mesh to hold these pieces in place long enough to dry.

 Here are some detailed sections within the design it was really important to me to have  continuity throughout the mortar. These strong lines which are integral to the piece had to be followed through. Fluidity has always been a main consideration from the very beginning of the research deriving from the large ink drawings.

The final piece my plan is to leave it a few weeks in order for the grass to recover and regrow and then begin to think about a small press launch.
It's a strange feeling I have lived with this project for over two years now it's finally reached it's destination and no one has seen it yet. It feels like a large scale secret waiting to be discovered!