Fabricating ruin theory: theorising ceramic practice as a method to reinterpret ruin theory
Marshall-Brown, Guy (2025) Fabricating ruin theory: theorising ceramic practice as a method to reinterpret ruin theory. PhD thesis, University for the Creative Arts.
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This research employs a practice-based methodology to explore the communicative potential of ceramic sculptures as ruins, the impact of engaged ceramic practice on understandings of ruin theory, and the effects of manipulating clay body chemistry in sculptural ceramics. This research establishes a reflective sculptural ceramic practice in which theory and praxis inform and enrich each other, forming a critical conversation between practice, architectural history, and archaeological theories. It is further informed by museological and heritage studies, semiotics, post-structuralism, and feminist perspectives.
The study explores concepts such as weathering, the kiln as a site of ruination, sham ruins, and imaginary architectural ghosts. The praxis has expanded the scope of theoretical enquiry to include taxonomic classification, curatorial value, museum semiotics, fragments as synecdochic objects, and ruin temporality. A survey of ceramicists concerned with fragmentation and the aesthetics of decay establishes ceramics as an appropriate medium to explore ruination. Site visits, adopted from architecture and archaeology, identified key aesthetic markers of ruination, informing aesthetic decision-making and leading to breakthroughs in studio production and interpretation of existing theory. Notably, this prompted reflection on the collection of souvenirs from ruin sites. Analogies are drawn between historical object collection and generating one’s own collection, leading to an exhibitionary practice using museological display methods as a device for narrative fabrication. A central tenet of this research is fragmentation, which offers insights into ruins as assemblages. This approach interprets ruined objects through synecdoche and views the ceramic studio as a space for fabricating future fragments and the formation of pseudo collections. The research critiques established ruin theory and proposes a reconceptualisation of ruins. It adopts a feminist perspective that challenges the traditional dichotomy between authentic and inauthentic ruins. Through this approach, the thesis offers a nuanced understanding of ruination, emphasising the fluidity between human-made and natural decay, and advocating for a more inclusive appreciation of material fragmentation and its aesthetic value. This research contributes to ruin theory by materialising the contradictions in theory, thus demonstrating how it is possible to approach ruin theory from a perspective outside of architectural history. Simultaneously, this proposes ceramic practice as a method of theoretical investigation.
Thesis submitted in partial requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, University for the Creative Arts, Farnham.
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