Standard Wares

Within the discipline of pottery, standard wares constitute a potter's main production line. These pots tend towards functionality. Their measurements, forms, and features are consistent. And they are produced with regularity. These standard wares present a succinct expression of the potter's vision, values, and technique.

The Standard Wares project is comprised of sequential still life illustrations. These movement studies trace the play and measured motion of light across time. Pottery, arranged within the tableau, provides a canvas for that movement. Their forms are examined thoroughly, held up to scrutiny, weighed and measured. The intimate light of the burning candle reveals the depth of form and space that surrounds it. It likewise discloses the subtle character of these crafted objects and the hands which made them.

These drawings are much indebted to the studio potters within my local community of London and the surrounding areas. Each sequence is a portrait of a specific potter's handiwork, with the artwork titles acknowledging their contributions. Many thanks to Lily Pearmain and Grace McCarthy thus far.

This projects revisits my Sequential Still Lifes series from 2016. As such, these drawings are as much standard wares as the pots that they depict. Returning to the project a decade later has clarified my persistent preoccupation with craft inheritance and art history. The formatting of this series is much indebted to the rhopography tradition of still life—as defined by the Spanish Masters of the bodegón— and to the sequential photography of Eadweard Muybridge.

Photos by Milena Orlandi
Framing and Mounting by The Framing Room in Lewisham