Wall Pieces Excerpt

8/8/2019 Wall Pieces Excerpt

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occasionally old tyres and waste oil todevelop the deep black colour.

The pure white wall on which Birth of Bubbles, Ancient Woodland and PeatDeposits is displayed denes the richblack piece and allows it to make astrong, animated statement. It is alsointeresting to see how Satoru Hoshinohas used small eye-catching forms at thetop of each pillar to draw the gaze acrossthe forms and towards the centre.

Before it was placed on the wall eachpiece was laid out on the oor on plasticin its correct grouping, to conrm itsposition and location on the wall ( seep.40). The ceramic pieces were thenplaced on the wall with an adhesivefollowing the designs for their location.Satoru Hoshino has several assistantswho help with large installation projects,

and they were on hand for this projectdue to the vast scale of the piece, givingSatoru the opportunity to stand at adistance, view and comment on theoverall construction of the piece.

Mari-Ruth Oda (UK)

Mari-Ruth Oda applies a gentle, subtleapproach to clay that interacts withtones and colours. Her forms createdepth, movement and shadows throughtheir interaction with space, and whenviewing her forms the curiosity to touchand experience the smooth surface isin many respects overwhelming. The Japanese-born maker, now based in

Manchester, has created and workedon a variety of projects using naturalinspiration as a key inuence to developand capture natural qualities on a wall’ssurface through the use of clay.

Mari-Ruth Oda has created a numberof successful projects; her projects atUplands and Brimble Hill Schools ( seepp.38–39) demonstrate the successful

evolution of an idea through to anished piece with the Percentage forArts Scheme. Commissioned by SwindonCouncil and Artpoint Public Arts agencyto create 20 panels that respond to

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Birth of Bubbles, Ancient Woodland and Peat Deposits, by Satoru Hoshino, 1993. Ht: 2.7 m (8 ft10 in.), W: 13.7 m (45 ft). Smoke-fired earthenware. Installation of wall piece in MitsukeCultural City Hall, Arcadia, Japan. Photo by S. Hoshino.



nature, Mari-Ruth had to reect on theclay she was going to use as well as theinspiration, scale, backing material andthe durability of the surface. The panelswere to be sited in a primary and

secondary school for children withspecial needs, and were intended as anopportunity for the children to interactwith the surface and thereby the space,to help orientate themselves around thebuilding through their sense of touch. Soit was essential to consider if was goingto be safe for children to touch andhandle them on a daily basis. The

positioning of the panels from oor toceiling was therefore well considered togive the children scope for touch andinteraction with the work. Oda didconduct several workshops with thechildren which led and inuenced theinspiration: one child in particular wascaptivated by droplets of water, andMari-Ruth could see this was one

element she would be including in herwork along with others: ‘The key wordsI noted were relaxing, fun, lack of gravity, ease of movement, warm.’

The design reference originated fromplants and cabbage leaves, as theirtextures and surfaces provided a goodsource of inspiration which the schoolchildren were able to understand and

relate to. Oda sanded the ceramics after

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Uplands School, Swindon, project by Mari-Ruth Oda. Each square approx. 40 x 40x 6 cm (15 3 ⁄ 4 x 15 3 ⁄ 4 x 2 1 ⁄ 2 in.). Stonewareceramics with body stain.

FROM TOP

Mari-Ruth in studio creating ‘growth’.

Mari-Ruth working from sketchbook.

Final plan of main hall.Photos by M. Oda.



the ring to ensure a smoother surface.The subtle green colour of the panelswas achieved by working with stained(coloured) clay which was pugged withthe main body (Scarva’s EarthstoneHandbuilding Material). Before Oda beganthe making for the nal panels she made amaquette to give her the opportunity toplay with scale and design.

The panels were installed by OxfordExhibition Service. Mari-Ruthdescribes how the panels were createdand hung: ‘The panels are hollow andthe back is open with an overhang lip,so from the back it looks a bit like achunky picture-frame. The bracketsare made of two thick strips of wood inL-shaped cross-section so the panels

can hook onto this. The panels havetwo holes on the top side so they canbe screwed onto the brackets (whichare inside the panels when mounted)from above.’

Marie Bornet (Switzerland)Rêverie, designed and made by the Swissceramicist Marie Bornet, was a piece7.40 x 3 m (24 x 9 ft 10 in.). The locationchosen for this piece was a corridor,which acted as a temporary location forthis exhibition. With this piece it isinteresting to see how a vision to

transform a wall space can be realised.We often expect a wall piece to be placedon a central wall with the opportunity tomove around the form, for example in aclean, clear space such as a gallery; butthis is not always the ideal location. MarieBornet refreshingly challenges these‘classical views of wall space’, as a corridorcan be an important wall space too, and

we all need the chance to be visually stim-ulated while walking along these spaces.Over 1000 pieces of small slab-carvedporcelain were used to express Marie’sresponse to the impact of mountain

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Uplands School, Swindon, project by Mari-Ruth Oda, 2008. Each approx. 40 x 40 x 6 cm (15 3 ⁄ 4x 15 3 ⁄ 4 x 2 1 ⁄ 2 in.). Stoneware ceramics with body stain. Photo by M. Oda.

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Wall Pieces Excerpt