Topographies of the Obsolete

Brownsword was invited to deliver two lectures and a workshop to staff and students at Haute École d'art et de Design (HEAD), Genève, who had partnered into phase 2 of the Topographies of the Obsolete project. The first lecture introduced the concept, methodologies and outputs of phases 1 and 2 of Topographies. The second lecture disseminated outcomes from Brownsword’s research into North Staffordshire’s post-industrial landscape and associated impact on people, place and heritage. Afternoon workshops peer reviewed site-specific project proposals for an associated Topographies partner-project with HEAD at the former Langenthal Porcelain factory. In the spring of 2018, students of HEAD – Genève explored issues relating to this now abandoned industrial site. In response to the factory’s history and surrounding narratives, ‘the students and their teachers shared their experiences in the form of artistic projects that evoked, through the site’s furniture and materials, the anecdotes and atmosphere of this unique part of the Swiss industrial heritage’. The project resulted in a significant partner- output demonstrating the application of Topographies innovative methodology and structure for interrogating a post-industrial site of ceramic production through artistic research.