Made in Korea further investigates the links between ceramic and sound art practice initiated in 2016 for Landscape : Islands and one of our key aims, facilitating collaboration between artists
Thematically, the residency explored hand-making and industrial techniques utilised in ceramic production in the UK and Korea.
Residency artists: Kyung Won Baek, Jin Kim
Two Korean ceramists undertook a residency at The Ceramic House in May-June 2017. They collaborated in creating a installation, Shadow Workers for British Ceramics Biennial (BCB), which was displayed opposite an installation, Pavilion by Kay Aplin reflecting on her experiences in Korea, linked by a sound piece by Joseph Young. The residency started off with a week-long site visit to Stoke-on-Trent, with visits to potteries, factories, museums and heritage sites efficiently organised by the BCB team.
Shadow Workers responded directly to the ceramic heritage of Wedgwood in Stoke-on-Trent, with which they drew parallels with Korean manufacturing industry, in particular the female-dominated labour force and positions traditionally held by women. Pavilion is inspired by traditional Korean architectural ceramic heritage. The two installations evoked a cultural conversation between UK and Korean ceramic traditions and were further linked by a four-channel sound installation, Handmade Automation by Joseph Young, composed of the sounds of hand-made clay making processes recorded in artists’ studios in Korea and industrialised ceramic production in factories in Stoke-on-Trent, creating a multi-layered soundscape.
Follow Kay’s blog about the project here: https://www.a-n.co.uk/blogs/made-in-korea
Photos by Sylvain Deleu. Additional photos by Kay Aplin and Kyung Won Baek
An excerpt from Joseph Young’s four-channel sound installation Handmade Automation is below. The two wall installations were positioned directly opposite each other in the Spode Works factory, with the sound bridging the gap. The Korean hand-making sounds emanated from Kay Aplin’s Pavilion piece, referring to the craft processes used to make the roof tiles in Korean architecture and the Stoke factory sounds emanated from Jin Kim’s and Kyung Won Baek’s Shadow Workers piece, referring to factory production lines.
This residency looks a interesting. I am also a Ceramic artist and also want to be a part of this project. Kindly keep me updated.