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National Treasure. Exhibited at - Vociferous Void: Topographies of the Obsolete, Ann Linnemann Gallery, Copenhagen, 2017

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BROWNSWORD, Neil (2017) National Treasure. Exhibited at - Vociferous Void: Topographies of the Obsolete, Ann Linnemann Gallery, Copenhagen, 2017. [Artefact]

[thumbnail of National Treasure. Image courtesy of Ann Linnemann]
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1. Neil Brownsword, National Treasure. .jpg - Supplemental Material
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2. National Treasure. Neil Brownsword, Film stills., with Anthony Challiner .jpg - Supplemental Material
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Official URL: http://annlinnemann-english.blogspot.com/2017/06/

Abstract or description

Dissemination context:
This iteration of National Treasure comprised of three objects and a film (2014-2016), curated by Ann Linnemann to show ongoing works which were initiated through the international research project – Topographies of the Obsolete.

Other exhibitors included Anne Helen Mydland (NO) and Karen Harsbo (DK).

Item Type: Artefact
Additional Information: National Treasure (artefact) National Treasure introduced new critical insights into aspects of skill displacement following the aftermath of decades of deindustrialisation in North Staffordshire’s ceramic sector. It examines shifts in production from the ‘shop floor’ to the factory tourism model, through an innovative combination of live performance, installation, social practice, film and artefact that ‘bring the traditions of the [ceramics] field into a new category of experience’. Brownsword’s parody of this ‘artisan on display’ format, critiques how the parade of ‘indigenous’ artisanal craft from the visitor centre experience, obscures the realities of profit first strategies of mass-automation and global outsourcing. Ex-industry China painters were employed by Brownsword to follow the genre of the romantic ruin commonly depicted in 18th century British ceramics. Painting on the backs of discarded platters found at former historic sites of production, with images that documented Stoke-on-Trent’s post-industrial fallout offered a new perspective to social realism within ceramic practice. By incorporating the dynamics of hired labour, National Treasure offered an innovative method to elevate and disseminate the endangered practices of a rapidly disappearing culture of labour. The work also explored the ethical implications of appropriating people and their skill as a raw material – a subject relatively absent in contemporary ceramic practice. Exhibition context http://annlinnemann-english.blogspot.com/2017/06/ : Mindful ceramic-political exhibition on post-industrial contemporary. The derelict porcelain industry of the West is the focal point for the exhibition. Three Norwegian-British-Danish artists visualise the relevant theme, philosophies and ideas behind an international collaboration project. The exhibition shows thoughtful artistic visions and a special survey of the post-industrial landscape and related stories about the Western abandoned porcelain industry, based on a once-famous British ceramic capital, Stoke-on-Trent and the factory Spode, which was the key stone of the city's industrial heritage, acting at the same place for over 230 years, where abandoned buildings now bear witness of catastrophic fluctuations in global success. By honing in on the history and singularity of the site, Topographies questions: - what is, and how ceramic and clay may be understood as both material and subject in contemporary art practice. Can we understand conceive/perceive the material (clay/ceramics) to be a site, to constitute a site? Moreover, how do ceramics and clay form and construct our understanding of the site? NEIL BROWNSWORD examines the legacy of globalisation in relation to Stoke-on-Trent’s ceramic manufacturing sector, and the impact this has had upon people, place and traditional skills. Using film and performative installation he deconstructs and re-orchestrates complex craft knowledge within industrial production to pose questions surrounding the value and repurposing of inter-generational skill.
Faculty: School of Creative Arts and Engineering > Art and Design
Event Title: Vociferous Void: Topographies of The Obsolete
Event Location: Anne Linnemann Gallery, Kronprinsessegade 51, Nyboder Area, Copenhagen, Denmark
Event Dates: 15-31 June & 1-19 August 2017
Depositing User: Neil BROWNSWORD
Date Deposited: 05 Jun 2019 13:03
Last Modified: 24 Feb 2023 13:54
URI: https://eprints.staffs.ac.uk/id/eprint/5302

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