Master Ceramics Residency during July-September 2014 at Standpoint, London.
A series of related glazed ceramic works focussing on the idea of ‘building’, both as a physical process and a metaphor that influenced imagery, were produced during the residency. The intention was to seek ways of making that meant that kiln size did not necessarily pre determine the size or scale of the finished work. To this end, the sculptures were made in parts, so visual motifs had to ‘adapt’ in order to accommodate this, raising issues about how function might influence meaning and image. The project continued De Cordova’s interest in compressed narratives, drawing from first hand experiences of wilderness voyaging in Wyoming and British Colombia, where notions of shelter were speculative in terms of fictional possibilities, and yet a necessity. Fear, as a tangible emotional experience that is part of this type of landscape encounter was intentionally coupled with the literary fear that might be found in the ‘warning lost in the woods tales’ of both Europe and North America.
The finished works were exhibited in ‘Building Dwelling Thinking’, a group show at the Eagle Gallery in 2015.