At the heart of the work is an examination of the nature of making, or craft. Experimenting with techniques, materials, and the associations they evoke. Combining them in unfamiliar ways, setting in motion a free play of suggestion, where meaning becomes unfixed. Exploring how a simple physical act can completely transform how an object or material is both seen and understood, and offering an alternative view.
Evident in the work is an appreciation of how the idea of craft can be seen as something of an anachronism. The work can therefore seem ambiguous and of questionable value. This characteristic of the work is heightened by a shift in focus away from the process of selection, a denial of differentiation in the choice of subject or material. The work delights in trawling through trash, reincorporating the unwanted, generating wonder at the worthless.
This is not intended to remove all worth from the work, on the contrary, it is intended to shift the focus away the process of selection and towards the act of making itself. The approach is intended to question how we decide an object's worth, it is not in the object itself but through the craft involved in its making. It is through the processes involved in its construction that the work redeems itself. Through an awareness of the nature of the materials, gained through their working, meaning becomes unfixed, and a free play of suggestion and association is set in motion.
Dave Cushley