Clare Twomey Exhibitions

Consciousness/Conscience

Collaboration with Royal Crown Derby and myself was successfully delivered to the Crafts Council as part of the exhibition Approach Content. It has been a forward thinking project embraced by a market leader from our ceramic industry. This project has shown how industry can take exciting and reactive steps.

To quote Marc Curra "Why does someone laboriously construct a sculpture with the full expectation that it will be walked all over and destroyed? Not only that, but have it destroyed in a gallery which usually shows objects which are highly crafted and treasured for their physical beauty?" and find a company to sponsor such an expensive and transient statement.

Consciousness/Conscience is a ceramic installation that is destroyed; it is made from one of the most precious and revered materials, Bone China. 7000 hollow cast bone china tiles is a lot of making for an individual crafts person. To maintain a constant form without deviation would be taxing for the individual maker. None of the above is impossible, just not logical for this project.

This project had to be undertaken by a company that would understand multiples and production to very refined requirements. By the nature of this work, there was no product to sell to gain profit from, so the route that I sought was sponsorship.

Having the backing from an organisation like the Crafts Council gave the proposal weight. Royal Crown Derby responded very positively and directly. They are not a huge company in respect to management teams, which allowed us to have clear dialogue that was not wrapped in layers of committees and referrals.

Hugh Gibson the Managing director of Royal Crown Derby gave the project life from the start feeling that it is the kind of project that he would like his company to be involved in. Royal Crown Derby has been involved in arts projects previously and had a fair idea of the kind of flexibility the company would need to extend. Peter Allen senior designer was my main contact, from initial meetings we focused on how the production of Consciousness/conscience would work into the factory schedules. This element was an important part of the success of this project; it had to be able to be produced in a way that would compliment the factory production already in place. A lot of development work was done in the technical areas; the team in the factory patiently pursued this. I was consulted at all stages of development; this allowed us to work quickly and clearly to our goals.

This sponsorship and collaboration has been a success because I found the right manufacturer, one who believed in the project and could react quickly to its demands. This project, which has lead to the production of 7000 units in bone china started with a letter from myself. Research into appropriate companies was done before targeting my final selection of four manufactures that would be most appropriate to the needs of the project. But, a letter from an individual maker to the appropriate source started this project.

Clare Twomey
2003

Consciousness/Conscience by Clare Twomey photograph 1 click to enlarge

Consciousness/Conscience by Clare Twomey photograph 2 click to enlarge

Consciousness/Conscience by Clare Twomey photograph 3 click to enlarge

Consciousness/Conscience by Clare Twomey photograph 4 click to enlarge

Consciousness/Conscience by Clare Twomey photograph 5 click to enlarge

MARK CURRAH, 2003

Why does someone laboriously construct a sculpture with the full expectation that it will be walked all over and destroyed? Not only that, but have it destroyed in a gallery which usually shows objects which are highly crafted and treasured for their physical beauty?

Claire Twomey's floor-piece is made up of hundreds of carefully made ceramic boxes. She has spent a great deal of time researching their material construction, dimensions, wall-thickness, ceramic type and firing time to get them to break exactly as she wants. She has sourced a manufacturer to produce sufficient quantity for the floor to be completely re-laid a number of times during the show. So I think it's safe to say that this is not simply a gesture of irreverence.

Her very serious intentions are manifold but the most important in the context of this exhibition is to focus attention on the moment of the work's reception. To shift attention from the work itself to how the viewer responds to the work.

It is possible to remain outside of the discreet space in which the floor-piece is laid, but immediately you walk into it and the ceramic breaks under your feet, your status is changed and you become a participant, activating the work, and the decisions you make start to affect the physical make-up and appearance of the piece. Twomey's role as maker has undergone a subtle shift. She is now more akin to the position of the composer who sets the parameters of a musical composition down as a score, but gives the business of interpretation over to the players.

The breaking of China is usually a moment for regret, and in the case of a much-used and well-loved domestic item one of great sadness. Twomey though, is excited by the ephemeral nature of her material and takes pleasure in its fragility, giving the breaking of it the same exhilarating possibilities encountered on walking over virgin snow.