Tag Archives: Ceramics

Blog, Education, Merthyr Tydfil Bus Station, Public Art, Public Realm, Transport

29th April 2015, ‘Fragile?’ at the National Museum of Wales, Cardiff

May 18, 2015 Christopher Tipping Leave a comment

29th April 2015 – Before taking the train up to Merthyr, I stopped off in Cardiff to take a look at this exhibition at the National Museum Cardiff. Well worth the diversion and a possible connection to our project for the new Bus Station.

‘EXHIBITION Fragile?

18 April–4 October 2015

Did you ever expect to visit a ceramics exhibition and be asked to bring your vinyl collection along with you? Or to be invited to walk over and destroy one of the exhibits?

Fragile? showcases the beauty and diversity of contemporary ceramics practice in its widest sense. It explores the artistic and expressive possibilities of ceramic as a material, including the contradiction between two of its inherent qualities – durability and fragility.

The exhibition includes key works from the collection of Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales, shown alongside major, exciting installations commissioned from Phoebe Cummings, Clare Twomey and Keith Harrison. Ambitious new works by four Wales-based artists – Claire Curneen, Walter Keeler, Lowri Davies and Adam Buick – will be shown together with specially-commissioned films that will delve into each maker’s creative process.

Fragile? is generously funded by The Colwinston Charitable Trust and supported by The Derek Williams Trust’.

National Museum Cardiff

Fragile?', Ceramics exhibition at the National Museum of Wales, Cardiff. Image: Christopher Tipping — Fragile?’, Ceramics exhibition at the National Museum of Wales, Cardiff. Image: Christopher Tipping

The work of Adam Buick as seen in 'Fragile?', Ceramics exhibition at the National Museum Cardiff. Image: Christopher Tipping — The work of Adam Buick as seen in ‘Fragile?’, Ceramics exhibition at the National Museum Cardiff. Image: Christopher Tipping

I have been thinking about the possibility of commissioning contemporary applied arts, made by craftspeople based in Wales for the Bus Station project. How I go about this at this time is uncertain, as we probably have no budget for this, but I can clearly see a place for individual works within our proposal and concept for the Bus Station as a community space, referencing the locality and legacy in a personal and highly skilled manner. This reflects back to the skills and experience of former Ironworks employees and others from associated and parallel industries in the town. Adam Buick is an artist based in Pembrokeshire who references the varied landscapes of South Wales in his work.

Twenty Four Bricks, Various Manufacturers, Wales. 'Fragile?' National Museum Cardiff. Image: Christopher Tipping — Twenty Four Bricks, Various Manufacturers, Wales. ‘Fragile?’ National Museum Cardiff. Image: Christopher Tipping

Twenty four bricks from various 19th and 20th Century manufacturers in Wales are also on display in the exhibition. “Clays suitable for making bricks are commonly found above or beneath coal seams, so Wales has been home to many brickworks. Most brick clays are fired red but local variations can produce a wide range of colours and textures. Bricks are commonly inscribed with the maker’s name or the place of origin, adding to their local character”. ‘Fragile?’ Exhibition Notes. There were a number of brickworks active in Merthyr – amongst them were:

Jenkins

Merthyr Brickworks

Trebeddau

Dowlais

Hill’s Plymouth Co Ltd

Heolgerrig Brickworks

Thomas Town Brick & Tile Co.

I have also been talking to Andrew Renton, Head of Applied Art at the National Museum of Art, Wales about collaborating in the discussion about commissioning contemporary applied art for the new Bus Station Building.

The historic ceramics collection is very impressive too. Wales had several important manufacturers of pottery and porcelain including Nantgarw and Cambrian.

“Founded in Swansea in 1764, the Cambrian Pottery found success by imitating the high-quality pottery made fashionable by Josiah Wedgwood in Staffordshire.

This included creamware, black basalt and pottery beautifully painted by artists like Thomas Pardoe. High standards were maintained after 1802, when Lewis Weston Dillwyn took over the pottery.

The porcelain made between 1813 and 1826 at Nantgarw near Cardiff and at the Cambrian Pottery in Swansea is some of the most beautiful ever produced.

The man behind it was William Billingsley, a porcelain painter by training. From 1814 to 1817 he helped Dillwyn make porcelain at Swansea, before returning to Nantgarw in 1818 to make it himself.

Some Swansea porcelain and most Nantgarw porcelain were sent to London for decoration and sale to the top end of the market. The rest were decorated locally, until 1826 in Swansea and until 1823 at Nantgarw.

Pottery continued to be made in Swansea at the Glamorgan Pottery (1813-1838) and at the Cambrian Pottery, which closed in 1870. Llanelli’s South Wales Pottery was the only significant pottery left in south Wales until it too had to close in 1922.

The story of Welsh pottery and porcelain is told in the Joseph Gallery. The site of the Nantgarw China Works is now a museum, a few miles north of Cardiff.” National Museum Wales, Cardiff.

Welsh Pottery & Porcelain in the collection of the National Museum of Wales, Cardiff. Image: Christopher Tipping

Blog, Combe Down Stone Mines, Public Art

‘1479 plates’, Combe Down Stone Mines 2009

May 27, 2014 Christopher Tipping Leave a comment

In December 2008 I was commissioned, along with a number of other artists, to respond to the Combe Down Stone Mines Stabilisation Project, which was nearing completion after a 10 year ambitious and ground-breaking engineering-led programme.

The Combe Down Stone Mines Project was a major project undertaken by Bath & North East Somerset Council to stabilise abandoned limestone mine workings in the village of Combe Down and preserve the Health & Safety of the area. The aim of the Project was to remove the current threat to life and property of those living, working in and travelling through the Combe Down area. Collapse of the old mines, which in some instances, lay just metres beneath the surface, was a real possibility. In doing this, the Project ensured that the internationally recognised heritage, wildlife and environmental properties of the area were conserved for future generations.

The Combe Down Stone Mines Stabilisation Project was finally completed in 2010, with 25 hectares of very shallow limestone mines flooded with approximately 600,000 cubic metres of foamed concrete, the largest project of its kind in the world. Over the preceding 200 years some 700 houses had been built over the mines from which the stone was extracted to build Georgian Bath.

The project site of Combe Down, a village on the outskirts of Bath, falls within the World Heritage Site of Bath.

Publicity draft invitation to The Octagon installation and artist talk. Image: Christopher Tipping

The arts project team was managed and led by Art Consultants Frances Lord and Steve Geliot. “To celebrate the end of the Combe Down Stone Mines Stabilisation Project the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) granted £250K funding for commissioning public art. The Combe Down Public Art Project was the result of two years of activity, events, residencies and commissions”. Frances Lord

‘1479 plates’ Art Budget: £54,000.00

Client:Bath & North East Somerset Council funded by the Homes and Communities Agency, formerly English Herirage. https://www.homesandcommunities.co.uk/combe-down-stone-mines

Agencies: Project Managers: Provelio. Main Contractors: Hydrock & Scott Wilson Specialist Consultants: Oxford Archaeology, ‘Autonomatic’ & Digital Ceramic Systems, Stoke on Trent.

There is an interesting and informative film about the work Hydrock did on this project by following this link.

Combe Down Stone Mines. Early test samples of Bone China Plates with Combe Down artwork. Image: Christopher Tipping

Draft design for the ceramic transfer back stamp applied to the bone china plates. Image: Sarah Alldritt

A 21st Century Miner greeting a 19th Century Stone Miner. Archaeologists found a single bone of the Hare whilst excavating & recording the stone mines – ‘probably someone’s lunch!’. The leek represents the 21st Century mine workers who mostly came from South Wales.

‘1479 plates’ installation at The Octagon, Bath, 2009. Image: Kevin Fern

A selection of images from the Combe Down Stone MInes Project. Image: Christopher Tipping

Postcard invitation to The Octagon installation and artist talk. Image: Christopher Tipping

'1479 plates' at The Octagon, Bath. November 2009 — ‘1479 plates’ at The Octagon, Bath. November 2009

Invitation to collect your bone china plate following the exhibition and project completion. Image: Christopher Tipping

One of 788 Bone China plates produced for the installation.

'1479 plates', The Octagon, Bath. Private View. — ‘1479 plates’, The Octagon, Bath. Private View. Image by ZED.

The installation work ‘1479 plates’, was exhibited at The Octagon, an 18th Century Chapel in Bath, and featured a map of 788 bone china dinner plates , which explores the relationship between present day engineering and mining technology, stone mines heritage, archaeology, natural history, and two 18^th Century entrepreneurs of the English Enlightenment, Ralph Allen and Josiah Wedgwood. The work was created in collaboration with ‘Autonomatic’ – 3D Digital Research Cluster at University College Falmouth. The plates were displayed on a curving monolithic wall, redolent of the architectural terraces in Bath, built with the stone from the mines. The exhibition was constructed and managed by REM, Richmond Event Management.

The local community was widely consulted and was from the outset a supportive and creative project champions group, attending meetings and contributing significantly to the outcome of the works. I often stayed with local families, which was a very engaging way of collaborating away from the formal meetings and group sessions.

The image above is an A0 size print made to commemorate the project which has the names of all the Miners employed by Hydrock who worked on and contributed to the Combe Down Stone Mines Stabilisation Project. Printed by Digital Arte.

Portraits of Hydrock Miners working on the Combe Down project. Image: Christopher Tipping

A proposal to print a limited edition of artworks to commemorate the project. Image: Christopher Tipping

A collection of plates from the 788 which made up the installation. — A sample collection of plates from the 788 individual units, which made up the installation. Image: Portia Wilson

691 households affected by the stabilisation works were gifted a ceramic plate – one small part of the map – representing not only the individual household but the mining underworld beneath it. Following their display at The Octagon, the original 788 dinner plates were donated to form a large scale permanent installation in Combe Down village at some point in the future.

Publicity about the Combe Down project. Bath Chronicle, July 9th 2009. Image: Combe Down Project Office

A Celebration Poster design by Peter Brawne for the major community event, which saw the completion of the project. Image: Peter Brawne

Blog

Turner Contemporary, Margate

May 11, 2014 Christopher Tipping Leave a comment

We popped over to the Turner Contemporary in Margate yesterday to see the last weekend of the Making Painting: Helen Frankenthaler & JMW Turner

Thought that was a pretty wonderful dual presentation & really enjoyed the dynamic positioning of the Edmund de Waal vitrines.