Statement
During my time at the RCA I investigated the properties of specific metal oxides, cobalt, copper and manganese. The project aimed to express the individual characteristics of these metal oxides through various stages of growth and decay, relating to their behaviour in the firing process. I wanted to suggest a certain psychology to the materials by researching the nature of materials and how they transform.
This research also drew extensively on the philosophies of the early modern Alchemists, and particularly the way they developed their own personal psychology and understanding of the universe through the technical mastery of physical materials. This blurring of the distinction between spirituality and science, and between psychological and material transformation, remains the locus of my practice and a fertile source of inspiration in my craftsmanship.
— Clare Flatley