'THE NEGLIGIBLE THINGS UNDER YOUR FEET' 2019-2023
Source version
This project began as an installation for the Bishops Palace and Gardens in Wells, Someset. Faced with the imposing Medieval architecture,
I decided on a way of making that worked around the monumental and the spectacular in favour a low-key entanglement of the viewers in the strategy of the piece. The material aspect of this work consisted of hundreds of small fired clay forms. The unpredictable and incidental ways that these items were redistributed and dispersed by the passage of human walkers, (and occasionally by other creatures), were key for the development of the work over five days.
An initial condition was established by placing clusters of these forms in relation to the features and debris found on the site on the installation day. Over the course of the show, I expected visitors to tread on, dislodge and otherwise scatter the items. I expected too that some would be picked up and then discarded or taken away from the site. In the event, many of the forms were indeed redistributed in these and many other ways.
'Making a find’ was the point of maximum engagement with the work by the visitor with perhaps some interest and curiosity about the status and kind of object they were handling.
I anticipated that there would be a residue of pieces that were not collected and they therefore added another element to the material history of the site perhaps to become a ‘find’ in the weeks, months or years afterwards.
First remake : 'Remades'
At the close of the show, what forms remained were collected by me and after some consideration, I had three clusters cast in bronze and offered for sale; in effect a move to distribute and disperse the items into other contexts.
Final remake : 'On My Way To Broken Ground: Diptych'
I decided wanted to close the sequence by containing the remaining clay forms in such a way as to offer the viewer a different relationship in comparison to the source version. A number of the forms are sandwiched between 1) perforated metal trays and 2) clear acrylic sheet, supported by perforated metal trays. Both assemblies are raised on box-section metal stands and are intended to be seen in an indoor setting.
