17 x 11 cm | 6 x 4 in
Subject: Abstract
Tags: Organic Growth, Iridescent
Original sculpture in ceramic, (freestanding).
Ridged Basin and Finned Basin carry a deceptive simplicity. The white ceramic surface unveils forms reminiscent of the natural world. We might see Hamel’s works as exercises in language. This is something two-fold. We have the language of clay, of material, but we must also exercise words and account for what is happening.
How can we describe Hamel’s ceramics? White in colour, their form somewhat circular. The circular form is, however, cut short at the bottom and sits on a flat base. ‘Ridged’ and ‘finned’ are the classifying words used to describe the indents and raised parts that run from the base to the top of the work. The titles give us with one more word, ‘basin’. The works are hollow, and basin, a reference to the open bowl-like interior. Given that we have established the basics of the work, we might begin to think about meaning.
Might the words used take us somewhere? Basin could imply part of the kitchen or bathroom, but here it surely has overtones of the natural landscape, of a dip in the Earth's surface. Likewise, we can query the difference between ridged and finned. Is this a game of semantics, or is the precise meaning of words inherent in the artwork? This is something left for us as viewers to decide. And lastly, having spoken of forms reminiscent of the natural world, what might this mean? Certainly, the forms work to undermine or disguise Hamel’s handwork, suggesting that they might have been washed up on a beach or maybe they loosely recall the seedheads of dried flowers. Take your pick, describing a precise form is not important, rather we might see them as evocations, giving us space to consider (or reconsider) our relationship with the manmade, and importantly, to nature.
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Luke Hamel Cooke works mostly in clay and bronze generating organic forms mostly without tools, using only his hands. The work suggests growth, movement and fertility appropriating the language of natural forms without being specifically representational.