Thursday 20 August 2009

the chewing gum floors - DEGREE SHOW COLLECTION



Finally graduated!


So, this is what my degree show collection is about:


“So back in time I go
Through the saloon bar doors
Onto the chewing gum floors
Where only childhood knows” Matt Johnson – The The – Pillar Box Red
I feel comforted by the smell of a pub during the day, the slightly stale smell of smoke upon clothes. It reminds me of my Dad coming home at 8 o’clock on Sunday mornings from working at his nightclub and pub.

Throughout my childhood I was always told about the fun and games my parents had whilst growing up in the East End of London, the pubs and clubs they frequented and owned, the dances they went to and the tricks they played, the fights people got into. It always seemed so glamorous, yet comical - sometimes unbelievable. I want to be able to keep these memories alive.

My inspiration lies in my past. Nowadays it seems that things are becoming increasingly redeveloped and modernised, especially London on account of the Olympics - so it is more important than ever to remember our heritage and our background. We are beginning to forget our ‘roots’ and our own personal histories and forget that it is these that shaped the world in which we live in today.

By embarking on a personal nostalgic journey, I uncover memories previously forgotten. By using family to guide me through their memories of their lives owning pubs and clubs in the East End of London I have created unique yet thought provoking items, which will help others remember the areas, places and people which are now long gone.

Using a mixture of hand drawn and computer generated illustrations, along with surface relief and my ‘own recipe’ glazes, slipcast cylinders provide an interesting combination of graphics and ceramic qualities which record the quirky ephemeral stories on a vessel which will last the test of time once memories are perhaps forgotten.



Below is a selection of the collection:




"Mummy Weren't Daft" - Slipcast white earthenware - 36x17cm - £350



"Banana King" - Slipcast white earthenware with platinum lustre detail - 26.5x22cm - £325






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