Tank family

Tank Family – IGTV Video Transcript

This is a piece I made in about 2004, 2005. Its called Tank Family. So I hope you can see this – It’s a series of tanks, cartoon tanks. Slab built tanks, cartoon tanks In descending order of size.

Yeah, so erm, they’re made of clay. They’re slab built so they’re made out of sheets of clay, formed into cylinders and stuck together with slip. and also they’re covered in, they’re made of buff coloured clay so – fairly pale and then there’s this gray, dark gray slip on top of them and then they’re biscuited, so they’re fired once to 1000º degrees C. and at that stage they’re sanded down so that this, nice – this is the – this line, sorry, this line here. This is the clay, the colour of the clay coming through. and then they’re fired again This bit is glazed, this little wedge. The rest is left unglazed. So then they’re fired to stoneware temperature which is 1250ºC. and so they’re very, er solid, very hard.

Yeah, so what I really want to talk about here is the ideas. The idea here is…I suppose the reason it’s a strong idea is cause it’s funny. They have this ridiculous, I don’t know, to me they look like little erm little rubber ducks, all lined up in order of size, so they’re a bit like the ducks you stick on the wall. or erm.or like little toy yellow ducklings or chickens I s’pose.

I guess the idea has a certain strength which is one of the reasons, one of the ways I choose what to make. and I make things because the idea is strong, or it seems to strike a note, and the thing I am playing with here is, is the cuteness these things have this erm self contained, you know like – “Don’t I look just great” that kind of feel to them which is a ridiculous kind of state in the long term, I mean it’s fine if your’e One or two years old, or maybe several months old and then after that it’s just bonkers as an approach to life.

Yeah so – That’s why I feel it’s worth making, oh and what I’m doing here, I am talking about my, intentions, you know, what I thought I was doing when I made this, this piece.

What anyone else thinks they’re about, it’s up to them. But I suppose that is the sign of a piece that’s worth doing, that it resonates with other people and they have their own ideas about what, what the piece is about.

Yeah so this is the, I hope this is the first of a series of videos about my work just to give you some insight into my thinking

So take a look on the website – this piece is on there – I think.

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Obviously we’re in lockdown at the moment so there’s no – shows going on really but I guess that will happen in due course

So thanks for watching and listening, Take care,