Arch, 2017
The Church of St Saviours
Porcelain chains hang within a Neo-Gothic church, mimicking the dome above.
Measuring 8m long each, these handmade porcelain chains intersect to form catenary arches, the simple yet stable curve responsible for long standing arches and domes. This architectural tool has been used to construct everything from humble potter’s Kilns, to Gaudi’s La Sagrada Familia.
The chains are a way of addressing both the strength and brittleness of South African Masculinity, and have since come to stand for contemporaries masculinity’s fragility in general. Architecture tends to be indicative of the time that they were built in, and are often statements of power and aspiration. Using this precarious material to disrupt architecture with its own vocabulary is a way for me to challenge Britain’s Imperial past.
I first developed my porcelain chains while on residency at the Florence Trust, which is housed inside St Saviors Church, London. They started as a way of exploring my families sailing history, which became the base for my fictional short story and subsequent installation Taxonomy (2015). Wearing the chain became a way to integrate the viewer into the installation, expanding it into a social space. The chains were then developed into an edition of
wearable artworks, resulting in a photographic project. People were asked to wear the chains while ‘performing their masculinity’. This performative element came to a head with Architrave (2016) at Curious Body, where the chains were first used as an architectural intervention. In Liam (2018) the chains acted as an Adams Style swagging, responding to the Georgian architecture of the site. In their latest iteration Dependence (2019), the ambiguity of chains is addressed, as they both connect and constrain the anthropomorphised vessels.
Curatorial support: Ashlee Conery
Art Installer: Kasper Pincis
Photographer: Michael Chapman
Venue: Church of St Saviours, London