Ceramics/ Gallery 02/ Page 07

War of the Worlds
Earthenware, bamboo, chain, light bulbs & wiring
h80cm

Full title: "A melodramatic tableau loosely based on H.G.Wells' 'War of the Worlds' featuring a renegade cohort of obsolete entertainment modules intent on changing the course of history forever and ever (with extreme prejudice)."

The work looks at redundancy, consumerism and technology through the lens of a melodramatic science fiction scenario. This piece evolved from a previous work featuring a tv set. I did some internet picture research and came across a set of russian designs for televisions units from the 1960's some of which featured long elegant legs. This imagery is blended into the War of the Worlds theme and took on it's own identity.

I often work with imagery from the time of my childhood, it has more meaning and weight than current imagery. The obsolete technology that clutters our attics has an inherent comic and and tragic tinge, having swapped it's status as leading edge (useful and desirable) technology for the rank of junk.

This group of eight part-glazed terra-cotta televisions represents a departure into mixed media and work on a larger scale. The ceramic units are on bamboo legs. Each one has an electric light bulb inside it.