Stay ConnectedIn Material Matters, host Grant Gibson talks to a designer, maker, artist, architect, engineer, or scientist about a material or technique with which they’re intrinsically linked and discovers how it changed their lives and careers.
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The final episode of this special ‘lockdown’ series of Material Matters features Alexis Peskine. I came across the Paris-based artist’s work at last year’s 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair at London’s Somerset House and described it in a subsequent Instagram post as ‘breathtaking’.
Rather than using canvas, Peskine takes an earth and coffee-stained timber base. And instead of paint, he hammers nails at different heights, which are often tipped with gold leaf to form the features of a face. The resulting portraits of black subjects – or Power Figures – are large scale and immensely detailed while being both beautiful and haunting at the same time. They also possess a wonderful sense of topography.
The work talks about race, migration, deportation, with recent pieces paying tribute to migrants undertaking dangerous boat journeys from North Africa to Europe. It is utterly extraordinary.
We talk about what the nails represent and his intricate process; his eclectic family background; why his talent for basketball took him to the US; and how black American culture effected his life. Perhaps most importantly we discuss the black experience and the blight of racism. ‘You make art about what touches you,’ he explains. ‘There are so many injustices to correct. It’s going to be a life struggle.’
You can find out more about Alexis’ work here: www.octobergallery.co.uk
In the fifth ‘lockdown special’ of Material Matters, I speak to the brilliant Lin Cheung. Lin is one of the world’s most intriguing jewellery designers, her output vacillating between installation pieces, work that contains political and social commentary, as well as high profile commissions, including the medals for the 2012 Paralympic Games in London.
She picked up an Arts Foundation Award in 2001 and a Jerwood Contemporary Makers Award in 2008. In 2017 she was shortlisted for the Woman’s Hour Craft Prize, while in 2018 she won the prestigious Francoise van den Bosch Award. She is also a teacher on the jewellery course at Central Saint Martins.
As one critic said: ‘Lin’s work is a commentary on the human condition, a conveyer of the maker’s thoughts and feelings, a constant exploration into the meanings of jewellery.’
Over the years she has worked in a range of materials but, at least to begin with, we chat about her most recent collections, which have been made from stone.
During our interview Lin also touches on why jewellery matters and how it has the ability to comment on our hopes, beliefs and dreams; the background to her series of stone badges, entitled Delayed Reactions; the joy she finds in carving; and the relationship between ideas and materials. It’s delicate and rather lyrical stuff.
You can find out more about Lin’s work here: www.lincheung.co.uk
The fourth ‘lockdown special’ episode of Material Matters features the excellent Fernando Laposse. The up-and-coming designer has made his name in recent years with his colourfully beautiful veneer, Totomoxtle, which is made from the husks of Mexican corn grown in the tiny village of Tonahuixtla.
The product was included in last year’s exhibition Food: Bigger than the Plate at the Victoria and Albert Museum, as well as being shortlisted for the London Design Museum’s Beazley Designs of the Year in 2018.
In this episode the Paris-born but Mexican-bred designer talks about the background of this deeply personal project, which involves macro-economics (and Mexico’s controversial free trade agreement with the US and Canada); agricultural heritage; global food culture; old family friends and childhood summer holidays; as well as craft and, of course, corn.
Importantly it illustrates how design thinking can genuinely make a difference to an entire community, showing that traditional techniques and ways of living can still thrive in the globalised economy.
As Fernando says his work ‘is preoccupied with sustainability, the loss of biodiversity, community disenfranchisement and the politics of food’. It's fascinating stuff.
You can find out more about Fernando and his work here: www.fernandolaposse.com
The third 'lockdown special' of Material Matters features the radical knitter Freddie Robins.
The common perception of knitting is that it’s a gentle, mindful activity. A thing you can do quietly in front of the television to relax after a hard day. Well Robins’ work is the antithesis of all that. It’s frequently dark, and always provocative. Her subject matter encompasses death, loss, religion, depression and challenges the perceived hierarchy of the art and craft worlds. It is work meant for the gallery rather than to be worn at home and comes with titles such as ‘Bad Mother’ and ‘I’m so Bloody Sad’. Kaffe Fassett she ain’t.
In this episode we discuss: the pivotal role her Godmother played in her childhood fascination with textiles; her loathing of conformity and the ‘danger of being ridden over by mediocrity’; her spell working in the fashion world; exploring the dark side through her work; having her pieces vandalised; and why knitting shouldn’t always be good for you. Not only that but we also chat about her appearance on Grand Designs with Kevin McCloud. So something for everybody I think.
You can find out more about Freddie’s here: freddierobins.com
NB: Like all our lockdown episodes this has been recorded over the internet rather than in our guest’s studio. As a result the sound quality isn’t quite where we’d like it to be all the time.
The second ‘lockdown special’ episode of Material Matters features the excellent Sheridan Coakley. The entrepreneur cut his teeth as a modern furniture dealer before founding the iconic SCP – or Sheridan Coakley Products – in London’s Shoreditch during the mid-eighties.
The manufacturer and retailer burst onto the nascent British design scene with pieces by Jasper Morrison and Matthew Hilton. In 1991 it produced the latter’s Balzac armchair, which has gone on to become a bona fide classic. Over the years the roll call of designers Sheridan has worked with includes: Konstantin Grcic, James Irvine, Michael Marriott, Donna Wilson, Rachel Whiteread and Reiko Kaneko to name just a handful. He has legitimate claims to be considered one of the most influential figures in British design over the past 35 years.
In this episode we talk about his early days; swapping bubblegum cards with artist Eduardo Paolozzi; meeting Jasper Morrison for the first time (in quite surprising circumstances); setting up business in unfashionable east London; copying classics; the state of British design; and the future of retail.
You can find out more about SCP here: scp.co.uk
(Please note this is a special episode made in really quite tricky circumstances, so the sound quality isn’t quite as good as normal.)
This is the first special ‘lockdown’ edition of Material Matters. As regular listeners will be aware, we usually record our interviews in the studio or workshop of our guest but, because of the virus, this wasn’t able to happen.
So instead this show was done over the internet with the brilliant Gareth Neal. The London-based designer and maker has exhibited pieces across the world and has work in the collections of the V&A and the Crafts Council.
Over the course of our chat, Gareth talks about his latest work in 3D printed sand; explains why designers should constantly be questioning themselves and their methods; and unpicks his eclectic collaborations with the likes of Orkney chair maker Kevin Gauld and cutting-edge architect, the late, great Zaha Hadid.
However, the real focus of our discussion is his lifelong relationship with timber – he illustrates how the material is both fascinating and frustrating in equal measure – and technology, with the self-confessed ‘gambler’ putting forward a case for why digital manufacturing should be considered a form of craft.
You can find out more about Gareth’s work here: garethneal.co.uk
(Please note this is a special episode made in distinctly tricky circumstances, so the sound quality isn’t quite a good as normal.)
Junko Mori is one of the world’s leading metal artists, who has work in the collections of The Goldsmiths’ Company, The British Museum and numerous others. The Japanese born blacksmith is renowned for her extraordinary work in mild steel or silver that aggregates hundreds of individually forged elements to create pieces that are often inspired by nature in general and cell division in particular. As she has said: ‘The uncontrollable beauty is the core of my concept.’
We talk about growing up in her native Japan; how she ended up fixing boilers in Tokyo for a living; why she decided to move to the UK in the 1990s; the fundamental differences between the two cultures she has lived in; and how she learned English by going to the local pub.
Most importantly we talk about metal and the meditative qualities of forging – it’s a bit like jogging only better apparently.
You can find out more about Junko’s work here: www.junkomori.com
Meanwhile her pieces can be purchased here: adriansassoon.com
It’s safe to say that ceramist Malene Hartmann Rasmussen is a one-off. I vividly remember first seeing one of her pieces in 2011. ‘If I Had a Heart I Could Love You’ was tucked away in a corner of an exhibition.
At its centre was a wood burning stove but instead of logs there were clay hearts sizzling in the fire. Phallic wooden stumps grew out of the walls, while on the floor a pair of ceramic snakes appeared to be taking a distinctly Machiavellian interest in a nearby squirrel. It was obviously profoundly influenced by the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm but also contained more than a hint of Pop Art as well as a dash of David Lynch’s seminal Twin Peaks.
In this conversation we talk about how growing up in provincial Denmark, with a family that had more than its fair share of issues, effected her work; her love of traditional Nordic fairytales in general and trolls in particular; a life-long fascination with film; and why her dog Django features so prominently in her work. Primarily though was focus on her love of clay and how the material has changed her life.
You can find out more about Malene’s work here: malenehartmannrasmussen.com
Car designer John Barnard is a Formula 1 legend. If motor sport is an orchestra of materials then John is its Simon Rattle. Over a garlanded career he worked for Ferrari (twice), Arrows and Prost. But his reputation was forged at McLaren, where he created the first car with a carbon fibre chassis. Lighter and safer, it won a lot of races too.
More recently he has been working on a range of carbon fibre furniture with Terence Woodgate for British manufacturer Established & Sons.
In this episode we talk about quite how controversial it was to use carbon in the early ’80s, with other designers (and the media) believing that in a crash the new car would go up in a cloud of black dust. We also discuss his relationships with some of the biggest names in the sport, including Ron Dennis, Alain Prost and the great Enzo Ferrari; his childhood in North Wembley; the importance of beauty in what can be a brutal business; the profound effect the death of Ayrton Senna had on F1; his innate understanding of a vast range of materials; as well as how he got the nickname The Prince of Darkness.
You can find out more about John’s work for Established & Sons here: establishedandsons.com
Daniel Charny is a design educator, curator and a creative consultant whose practice, From Now On, has worked with the likes of the Design Museum, developer U+I, and Heatherwick Studio.
However, he is arguably best known for co-founding Fixperts, an organisation which in the words of one writer ‘started out as a simple way of celebrating and clarifying the ingenuity and problem-solving power of design’. Since then though it has become rather more than that.
In this episode we talk about the importance of making and the ‘axis of care’ that runs the gamut from conservation to hacking; craft’s relationship with industry; his upbringing in Israel (and elsewhere); the time Ron Arad told him he was unemployable; and his surprise at the huge success his V&A exhibition, Power of Making, enjoyed.
Mostly though we focus on the success of Fixperts and why he wants everyone to be repairing things.
You can find out more about From Now On here: fromnowon.co.uk and there’s more about Fixperts here: fixing.education/fixperts
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