National Treasure. Exhibited in: Cause and Effect, The National Centre for Craft & Design, Sleaford, Lincolnshire 2016

Abstract or description

Dissemination context:
National Treasure’s film (2014) was curated by Bryony Windsor for the exhibition Cause and Effect which explores artists' responses to adversity. This was shown alongside earlier object based works Relic (2011), Remnant (2011), Waster (2011), Trinket (2011).

‘Craft has been used throughout history to give people a voice, offer a creative output in challenging times and rebuild communities, families and lives following a disaster. The contemporary artists selected to exhibit in Cause and Effect take inspiration from personal tragedies, international disasters and unfortunate events, creating thought-provoking contemporary art in response. I feel that your work, responding to the demise of the Stoke potteries, would bring another element to the exhibition’. (Windsor email)

Other featured artists in Cause & Effect included works by Julian Stair, Anna Barlow, Annie Cattrell, James Maskrey, Paul Scott, Emma Woffenden and Luke Jerram.

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 text: Cause and Effect explores artists' responses to adversity. Craft has been used throughout history to give people a voice, offer a creative output in challenging times and rebuild communities, families and lives following a disaster. The contemporary artists selected to exhibit in Cause and Effect take inspiration from personal tragedies, international disasters and unfortunate events, creating thought-provoking contemporary art in response. Neil Brownsword’s work explores the manufacturing histories of Stoke-on-Trent, a world renowned ceramic capital that has experienced a significant decline in recent decades. Through a research process which involves film and installation, Brownsword articulates a critique of globalization and its socio-economic impact on people, place and traditional industry. He examines in particular the complex knowledge systems within ceramic manufacture, and their displacement due to advances in technology and policies of outsourcing. Brownsword highlights what is a rapidly disappearing culture of labour, and raises questions surrounding the value and relevance of these intergenerational skills.
Faculty:	School of Creative Arts and Engineering > Art and Design
Event Title:	Cause and Effect
Event Location:	The National Centre for Craft & Design, Navigation Wharf, Carre Street, Sleaford, Lincs NG34 7TW
Event Dates:	18 June – 18 September 2016
Depositing User:	Neil BROWNSWORD
Date Deposited:	05 Jun 2019 13:02
Last Modified:	24 Feb 2023 13:54
URI:	https://eprints.staffs.ac.uk/id/eprint/5306

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 text: Cause and Effect explores artists' responses to adversity. Craft has been used throughout history to give people a voice, offer a creative output in challenging times and rebuild communities, families and lives following a disaster. The contemporary artists selected to exhibit in Cause and Effect take inspiration from personal tragedies, international disasters and unfortunate events, creating thought-provoking contemporary art in response. Neil Brownsword’s work explores the manufacturing histories of Stoke-on-Trent, a world renowned ceramic capital that has experienced a significant decline in recent decades. Through a research process which involves film and installation, Brownsword articulates a critique of globalization and its socio-economic impact on people, place and traditional industry. He examines in particular the complex knowledge systems within ceramic manufacture, and their displacement due to advances in technology and policies of outsourcing. Brownsword highlights what is a rapidly disappearing culture of labour, and raises questions surrounding the value and relevance of these intergenerational skills.

Faculty:

School of Creative Arts and Engineering > Art and Design

Event Title:

Cause and Effect

Event Location:

The National Centre for Craft & Design, Navigation Wharf, Carre Street, Sleaford, Lincs NG34 7TW

Event Dates:

18 June – 18 September 2016

Depositing User:

Neil BROWNSWORD

Date Deposited:

05 Jun 2019 13:02