In the world of metal, casting is seen as cheap, dirty and very economical. Lots of tourist mementos are cast in their millions and shipped off all over the world. It’s pure mass production.
I wanted to explore the process of casting metal and investigate how using different materials as a mould would affect the final object made. I am always curious to find where the opportunities are to experiment and consider where new potential can be found.
I’m always mining …
LEADEN
SKIES
Working through and possibly out of a global pandemic, I truly lost the motivation to make, not knowing what form would be remotely interesting. I felt literally flat, with socialising limited at best. Travel plans cancelled or restricted and hours and hours on zoom.
I began to think about the origins of metal and paint. Without the metal lead, we would not have Lead White. BINGO I don’t need a form. So I cast directly into antique Italian/ French gilded frames and I chuck in a few plastic ones for a healthy mix!
Leaden Skies
Material Lead
Dimensions 8 x 10 x 1cm
Year 2022
Location Private Collections UK
50/50
The teacup that my mother used to take medicine towards the end of her life while suffering from cancer. The self-corroding elements of the combined materials, pewter and lead, mirroring the effects of cancer as a destructive disease. The title refers to chance and a gamble in life. As you ascend the stack, the forms become less defined; the last element is the cup’s lip only.
50/50 (Edition of 4)
Material Lead, Pewter
Dimensions 12 x 12 x 18cm
Year 2015
Location Public Collection Plymouth Museum of Art UK
Available
BAROQUE
BEAUTIES
Using silver candlesticks bought initially from eBay, this series of five cast candlesticks are formed using the original packaging the objects arrived in; bubble wrap, cardboard and foam. We usually discard the packaging as junk, but I wanted to level the materials and create new forms using a classic production process. The mould disintegrated just a little after each casting, creating unique one-off pieces.
Baroque Beauties ( 5 Editions)
Material Pewter
Dimensions 10 x 10 x 10cm
Year 2016
Location Private Collections Germany, The Netherlands, USA. And The National Gallery of Victoria. Australia
COUPLED
The casting process destroys the ceramics figurine and reveals a pewter ‘shadow’ of what was once there. The features and details blur and soften like worn statues found in public spaces. The patination is then dripped over the piece and allowed to flow along the contours.
Coupled
Material Patinated Pewter
Dimensions 15 x 8 x 25cm
Year 2019
Available
Heavy Air
Material Pewter
Dimensions 20 x 20 x 5cm
Year 2015
Location Private Collections Australia, UK, The Netherlands
HEAVY AIR
These plates are a physical representation of a void or gap between two objects: here, two stacked plates. You see a new dish that captures the air and makes it tangible using 3 kilos of cast pewter.
My thanks to Wentworth’s Pewter.
Mr & Mrs
Made during a residency at the University of Wisconsin-Madison USA. 1 week after my father died and 4 years after my mother’s death. Other works at the same time were also figurative: Drowning Man and Couple. Each gave me a new opportunity to explore the potential of patination, as well as how we as humans ‘mark’ such occasions be that as public statues or a private moment to reflect and remember.
Mr & Mrs
Material Ceramic, old pewter
Dimensions 20 x 10 x 25cm
Year 2018
Location Public Collection Manchester Metropolitan University: Special Collection Museum.
REMAIN
An empty presentation box refilled. The aching void of missing objects replaced with what might have been. But now, in a total state of collapse and oozing from the container.
Remain
Material Pewter
Dimensions 20 x 8 x 9cm
Year 2015
Location National Gallery of Victoria. Australia
Every week, my family enjoyed a Sunday roast served on a large ceramic platter. Now, no longer used, I created a mould from it by packing aluminium foil tightly over its front and back. Pouring molten pewter into this and slowly swirling it, I waited and watched for the movement to cease, stillness to take over, and a shadow to remain.
STILLED LIFE
Stilled Life
Material Pewter
Dimensions 45 x 30 x 8cm
Year 2015
Available
