World Archaeology Congress 8, Kyoto, Japan

I presented a paper in the 'Breaking the Frame: Art and Archaeology in Practice' symposium of the World Archaeology Congress in Kyoto, 28 August - 2 September 2016. Organised by Carolyn White (University of Nevada Reno / USA) and Ursula Frederick (University of Sydney/Australia), the session sought to explore the increasingly close relationship between art practice and some forms of archaeology. This year's WAC had a prominent 'art and archaeology' component with various satellite events and exhibitions throughout Kyoto. The session was accompanied by a temporary exhibition of artwork at the Museum of Kyoto in which I displayed new ceramic work. 

In my presentation, titled 'Setomonogatari – Ceramic Practice as an Archaeology of the Contemporary Past', I argued that my creative ceramic practice has much in common with archaeological approaches to the contemporary past in that it takes the form of a ‘creative materialising intervention’, focusing on marginal or otherwise overlooked aspects of person-object interaction. I illustrated this by reference to recent artworks made in Seto, Japan, a traditional centre of pottery production. By reanimating old moulds and repurposing discarded sherds, my work explores the site’s changing materiality through time and is itself a proactive contribution to the archaeological record, capturing an enduring glimpse of the past and present of this ceramics community.

Temporary display of artwork at the Museum of Kyoto to coincide with WAC8's art and archaeology theme. My work can be seen in the vitrine in the background.