RESEARCH
keith harrison
The relationship between clay and electricity and how this known constant may be disrupted by a third factor suggested by a domestic appliance, an event, or location, is a central concern of current research activity.
In all projects clay is converted directly from a raw state using industrial electrical heating elements. A host form, typically an architectural detail or an electrical appliance, functions as a structural support for the work and serves as a vehicle for its subsequent firing.
The process of transformation is an intrinsic part of the work. Visible firings have taken place in private and public venues including art galleries, a science laboratory, London Underground and a cafe. The event is recorded and presented to a secondary audience as a short film or animation, often shown alongside the residue of the firing.
The electrical resistance colour coding system is employed and reappropriated to denote when work was made, to mark a significant date or as the commemoration of an occasion.
Production of work has involved collaboration with the Electrical Engineering departments at Imperial College, London and Aston University, Birmingham. Elmatic (Cardiff) Ltd have supplied specially made electrical heating elements and Cornelius plc have provided thermo-chromic paint.
Recent Exhibitions:
- 2006 - M25 and Last Supper. Installation at the V&A Museum
- 2005 - Platos Rotos . Posada del Potro, Cordoba, Spain. Supported by Spanish Institute of Culture
- 2003 - Arts Council International Artists' Fellowship. Khoj, New Delhi, India
- 2001 - Platform for Art. Gloucester Rd Underground station. Supported by London Underground and Lottery Funding