During the interviews I asked for advice in narrowing down my sources of inspiration. Here is some advice I received from Helen Johannessen. Choose 'the one that makes you feel something in the pit of your stomach, and maybe something that keeps recurring - even if you're not sure why'. Last year I studied two ceramics qualifications at college and kept sketchbooks. My final exhibition piece as based on my experience of a new city. I had worked in the financial district of Toronto, amongst the black Mies van der Rohe buildings of the Toronto-Dominion Centre. Every detail inside and out, down to the variety and colour of flowers in reception, had been specified by the architect. This was my starting point.
The buildings were black and reflective, on a huge scale, not like anything I had ever seen before, stunning. I made 3 or 4 pieces to try to reflect some aspect of the architecture, the scale, the reflections, and the windows. But there was a dissonance with my experience of living in the city. Whilst in Canada I felt very free of responsibilities and my past. I travelled all over the city with my friends, and wanted to convey that sense of freedom and movement. I started to modify the forms, I kept the scale, but made deep folds in the forms to suggest travel into and between the buildings and districts of the city,. The dark shiny glazes did not seem right for my experience of such a friendly place. It just wasn't working
Then I came across an aerial photo of the city, taken along Yonge Street, where I lived, which showed distinct areas of urban development. It struck me that each area of the city was distinct. North York where my flatmate worked, and where we had made many friends, midtown where my colleagues and I were based, the financial district where I worked, and the tourist quarter near the lake. I chose two different areas of the city and made two tall forms, separate, but connected in shape and colour. I wanted to express the element of freedom around the shapes, but also in the decoration. I like the concept, the pathways between and the ideas of freedom and connectedness. That’s what I felt when I was in Toronto, and what I think cities provide.
I keep coming back to cities. There is something in these pieces about Toronto, that is echoed in my Stand and Deliver project about Manchester,(reviewed in an earlier post), that I want to explore further. I am interested in the urban environment, the architecture, the pathways, the freedom of movement and choice, the links to personal and collective memories and history.
I love living in a city, and feel at home there, my family history is embedded in Manchester. I find cities interesting, and they are a recurring theme for me. I am going to follow Johanssens advice and explore my home city of Manchester for the next module.
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