Metamorphosis and Transformation was created during artist-in-residency programmes at the Museum of Glass, Tacoma and Pilchuck Glass School, Seattle, with the particular aim of exploring new processes and developing new knowledge in a material that is close to ceramics. This exploration forms part of my wider endeavour to investigate the composition of common materials and explore three-dimensional practices (and their differences) in order to create a group of harmonious works of glass, ceramics, and the fusion of both materials.
Ceramics practice is often a solitary and individual occupation. The glass projects in contrast were opportunities to generate collaborative partnerships between artists and facilitators, encouraging new approaches with community engagement. Metamorphosis and Transformation (8'x10'x16') was displayed in the grand hall of the Museum of Glass, Tacoma, as part of the exhibition TWEAK: Converts to Glass. It consisted of twenty-one interrelated clear blown glass vessels, ranging from to 3.5"- 21" long, arranged as a question mark or ear. The concept derived from the meandering River Nile; East African social geography and politics were referenced using pictographs and text. Research for this was conducted at the British Museum, the Petrie Museum, UCL and the Crafts Study Centre Archives, UCA. The project was extended in a second glass installation, Transition (exhibited in Kith and Kin II at the National Glass Centre, University of Sunderland) in which the optical reticello represents the movement and vortex of the river. My aim was to use practice to inform and to understand the significance of the displaced, forgotten, nomadic peoples of the valleys along the Nile, offering an attempt to come to terms with the nature of conflict in East Africa. The discovery of unbroken traditions of making material objects among these societies suggests that making objects has the power to transform and enhance their cultures’ continued survival.
This installation was recreated for display at the National Glass Centre, Sunderland, 27 September 2014 - 11 January 2015.
