How often, surfing through the Internet, we see unexpected things that make us stop and look more closely? Apparently, the creative potential of a person is inexhaustible and has long been not limited to the usual artistic visual tools, and mixes of one with another give rise to very interesting things. This time it was unexpected to see felled fragments crawling out and trickling down the wall from a broken plate.
Alison Hunter is an Irish artist from Sligo, a member of the Council of Ireland for design and crafts, a regular participant in various exhibitions, who works in a mixed technique and unexpectedly "crosses" wool felt and ceramics. She draws inspiration from the history and culture of Ireland, traditional architecture and the surrounding natural landscapes. By combining forgotten, damaged household items and broken dishes with wool and creating conceptual art objects from them, she gives them a new life.
"I create works of art by interpreting and reinterpreting patterns on found fragments. Based on their original shape and exaggerating some elements, I combine the textures of the found fragments and soft wool fibers in contrast, using traditional wet felting and modern needle felting methods."
Perhaps, for a person experienced in felting, all this will seem not so difficult, but for me, a person far from this type of creativity, not only the technicality is appreciated, but also the very idea of this tandem of materials in principle.
This blue-patterned plate dates from the early 1800s and is one of the oldest in the Alison Hunter's collection. For many years it was kept in one of the sheds on the farm, until a friend of the artist gave it to her. This is a fairly large plate with a diameter of about 35 cm and, according to Alison, a very heavy one. Since the plate was almost intact, Alison didn't break it, left it as it was, but added the missing piece with a felt sculpture that seemed to grow beyond the plate.
Personally, I like this work more than many others: due to the fact that the plate is almost whole, the intervention was minimal and very delicate. After all, where ceramics prevail, the balance of these two materials is "read" differently, whether it is tastier.
A plate from the 1960s, or rather half of it. In the process of working, where there is no decent piece of pattern, Alison has to turn on the imagination and complement the work with her own design. It is unlikely that the fish-whale on the plate was so literal, but the mixture of not only materials, but also visual language gives the works a great charm.
The "Road to Dublin" work is the side of a plate from a service from Alison's parents' home.
"I grew up with this plate, it was part of my every day. It broke it a few years ago, and I kept the pieces, because throwing away the plate was like throwing away memories. About a year later, I came up with the idea to combine this plate with these memories and my own feelings. So there was a new series of works. And the rest of the service is still used in my parents' house."
The road sign on the original was "Dover-London", but Alison decided to change it to "Sligo-Dublin" to make the story of the journey even closer.