Terms and conditions: dunhill and o'brien

Published on the occasion of the residency (5 - 23 August 2019) and exhibition (7 September - 13 October 2019) at AirSpace Gallery, Stoke-on-Trent, as part of the British Ceramics Biennial. At a time when digital technologies allow us to scan and replicate complex forms and gain instant access to a huge wealth of knowledge and information, the business of making by hand could seem to be unnecessary and nostalgic. This project focuses on the largely overlooked knowledge and skills of a group of local people and playfully revels in the dialogue between the eye, hand, intellect and material. In this way it sets out to celebrate the ingenuity and problem solving skills of these individuals, and to draw our attention to the importance and culture of hands on practice. The project begins with a 3-week residency at AirSpace, when the artists will work with a group of local volunteers who have agreed to step outside their individual comfort zones to participate in the making of the artwork. Each member of this group, including a dentist, hairdresser, masseur, blacksmith, boulderer, dressmaker, jeweler and design technologist, has their own unique 3D thinking and making skills. Working with a custom made modular structure built by Dunhill and OBrien during the residency, the participants will explore a range of terms and conditions for collaborative making, using raw clay, and employing experimental methods that test the limits of verbal and visual communication. The structure extending throughout the gallery acts as a working environment and filming device, where interactions will be documented during the residency. For the exhibition, AirSpaces main gallery will see the structure convert into a large-scale installation, incorporating and displaying the artists response to the objects produced, and the various processes and procedures captured by cameras and other recording devices during the residency

Published on the occasion of the residency (5 - 23 August 2019) and exhibition (7 September - 13 October 2019) at AirSpace Gallery, Stoke-on-Trent, as part of the British Ceramics Biennial. At a time when digital technologies allow us to scan and replicate complex forms and gain instant access to a huge wealth of knowledge and information, the business of making by hand could seem to be unnecessary and nostalgic. This project focuses on the largely overlooked knowledge and skills of a group of local people and playfully revels in the dialogue between the eye, hand, intellect and material. In this way it sets out to celebrate the ingenuity and problem solving skills of these individuals, and to draw our attention to the importance and culture of hands on practice. The project begins with a 3-week residency at AirSpace, when the artists will work with a group of local volunteers who have agreed to step outside their individual comfort zones to participate in the making of the artwork. Each member of this group, including a dentist, hairdresser, masseur, blacksmith, boulderer, dressmaker, jeweler and design technologist, has their own unique 3D thinking and making skills. Working with a custom made modular structure built by Dunhill and OBrien during the residency, the participants will explore a range of terms and conditions for collaborative making, using raw clay, and employing experimental methods that test the limits of verbal and visual communication. The structure extending throughout the gallery acts as a working environment and filming device, where interactions will be documented during the residency. For the exhibition, AirSpaces main gallery will see the structure convert into a large-scale installation, incorporating and displaying the artists response to the objects produced, and the various processes and procedures captured by cameras and other recording devices during the residency