An Intervention with Adi Toch at Goldsmiths’ Hall.
We have shared the same workshop for over 12 years. During this time, we have rarely shown together and never have we so consciously looked for overlaps, connections and associations. Lost & Found at Goldsmiths’ Hall has given us an extraordinary opportunity to align works together to engage the audience in a unique way – not seeing one maker vs another but offering a different way of looking. Merging different collections, groups and families to spark dynamic and highly surprising combinations.
What brings us both together is unquestionably metal. However, it goes much deeper than that. Both of us continuously investigate and test the metal to its very core. We are consciously moving away from the technical mastery of it and enhancing it with references to the earth, life, and the emotional. History is acknowledged and responded to equally in brazen ways as well as with quiet subtlety. The clear intention for us both is to move the discipline of silversmithing forward, to question the knowns and to offer different values. Hierarchies, alchemy and aesthetics are all under the spotlight, each defining different flavours to trigger curiosity and continuously take the world of metals forward.
Conceptually, Lost & Found relates as much to an approach, a process of making, as it does to the multiple layers of meaning in the objects themselves. Starting with the provenance of the materials and then the meaning given to the work by the makers, through to the impact these pieces have on an individual viewer. Looking carefully, you’ll find discarded objects that receive a new life, mirrored surfaces that offer new perspectives, and surprising materiality that suggests new narratives.
We have set ourselves several challenges by locating their work within what could be considered the architectural ‘treasure box’ of the Goldsmiths’ Hall. Firstly, by physically intervening and interrupting the building’s classical formality and confidently juxtaposing contemporary work against a cacophony of decorative marble within a non-standard display space, on and around the hall’s central staircase.
We have chosen to engage head-on with the stature of this imposing building and offer the viewer a unique experience designed to ignite new conversations between ourselves as artists and the audience alike.
Spontaneous collections, pairings and families of objects have all been assembled to trigger the mind.
Ultimately, we have created our curious world within Goldsmiths’ Hall, where our work ignites new conversations, triggers the imagination, and delights those looking for fresh storylines. You could have serious questions, potentially heated debates, and, hopefully, something to smile about in these troubling times.
Our thanks to Harriet Scott. Head of Goldsmiths’ Fair for initiating and supporting such a unique project. I thank Adi for being an excellent co-intervener. Job well done, I say!
To see Adi’s work please visit her website is http://aditoch.com/
