The Journal of Australian Ceramics Vol 52 No 3 November 2013

Focus: Ecology and Ceramics
CT: The area of documentation is very difficult. The experiential is vital in the work that I make. I think
fundamentally I want to make experiences that are tangible through interaction or observation. The term
installation, in all its varying forms, indicates an experience that one is engulfed by. This can happen
through photography, but in my case, so far photography has only been used as documentation. The
rigor of these boundaries is useful to help the works I make stay focused on their purpose.
Question 4
VJ: Human observation and interaction during the exhibition of the works are important elements of
your work. What does this reveal to you about the perception of your work and the site? Do you find
that the concepts and form of your artworks has changed as a result of your observations?
CT: The interactions of the participants are vital to forming the artwork. They feed into what others
do within the work. They are present and owned by the participants in most cases. So the question of
reframing my position around this interaction does not impact on the work being undertaken; the work
is independent at this stage. In following works, the knowledge that was evidenced in previous works
cannot be unknown. The work continues but very often I cannot presume the same set of interactions
as the site has changed, the work has changed and the question is probably different. I learn more
about the work I have made through it becoming live. The work starts as a well-calculated hope and I
learn about that as the work is explored.
Question 5
VJ: Many of your installations include multiple components produced by industrial production methods,
for example your works Consciousness/Conscience and Forever. Would you consider this a process
of commissioning a company to produce a product or is it more a collaborative process? If so, to what
extent does the form and meaning of the artwork change as a result of the collaborative process?
CT: I don't make products with industry; industry is a context for making installations and multiples.
The relationsh ip between my role as an outside artist with a disconnected relationship with product
production is helpful to understand the purpose beyond the original object. My independence allows
dialogues around skills, craft, material and people to be viewed afresh, not under the traditional roles
set out in the production of objects for mass sale . The form and meaning of the artwork are not formed
by convenience around industry; they are formed around a dialogue, a debate and reframing of history.
This is why I have undertaken the collaborative process.
Question 6
VJ: Could you tell us a little about your work as a research fellow at the University of Westminster?
CT: I am a researcher in the area of ceramics at the Ceramics Research Centre UK, based in the
University of Westminster. This role encompasses my practices as an artist, researcher, and curator. I am
an advisor for the PhD student study within the department. My research cu rrently addresses the role
THE JOURNAL OF AUSTRALIAN CERAMICS NOVEMBER 2013 21