Research update: Brick Development

Clay History

Clay is one of the most universal materials known to man throughout history and around the world, people have developed the art of forming clay from earth and water to make ceramics. Pottery is the oldest form of handicraft - even writing, the very method of communication which created a foundation for human development, came after the first clay pots. The earliest forms of pottery date back to 16,500 years ago in Japan - they were unglazed pots. From that time other civilisations created things out of clay; the ancient Greeks are renowned for pottery. The word ceramic comes from Greek ‘keramos’ meaning clay.

Brick history 

I have chosen to explore brick forms as a start to my practical exploration of the themes of inquiry. 

Bricks are probably one of the earliest architectural uses of clay known to man. They have been traced back over 10,000 years where wet earth was formed into bricks and left to bake in the sun to then be used in the construction of shelter. As civilisations developed, so did the craftsman skills; using bricks to create arches, gateways and more complex buildings. For over 3000 years, brick making became a large source of urban employment. Leick argues that this was to keep the masses occupied (Leick, 1999).

I grew up in Buckley which developed from a pottery producing town to producing thousands of bricks daily. At one point, there were 25 brickworks operating in the town. The location on a corridor of clay and coal helped with the town's prosperity. Potteries, brickworks and collieries all flourished due to the natural resources readily available. The first pottery was recorded in the mid 1400s, continuing to be produced until the 1940s. The abundant source of coal fueled the kilns for both the potteries and brickworks. Following the canalisation of the River Dee, this provided the expansion of the manufacturing of bricks and brick related items to be transported worldwide.

The history of bricks is intertwined with regional variations, architectural styles and technological advancements. Different cultures and time periods have used bricks in diverse ways, contributing to the rich and varied architecture heritage we see worldwide today.

Gwen Heeney, “Today, with the current emphasis on architectural ceramics, the interest in installations, and the advance of public art, brick is becoming an increasingly popular media for artists. Ever more of them are collaborating with brick factories to produce a wide range of work that utilises the unique properties of brick. Some of them carve the clay while it is green and then fire it; others use already fired bricks to produce their art. The possibilities are enormous.” (Heeney, 2003).

Bricks in art 

Here are a few examples of how bricks have been used in art:

• Equivalent VIII made by Carl Andre in 1966 - minimalist sculpture consisting of a series of 120 firebricks arranged in a rectangular grid on the floor. The bricks were positioned in two alternating rows. It was part of a series of artworks exploring materiality, form and space. The artist used everyday items to create the series, in this case bricks, organised in a geometric pattern. He aimed to emphasise the inherent qualities of materials and the relationship between the artwork and its surrounding space. The artwork sparked debates as it challenges conventional notions of artistic skill and aesthetics. https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/andre-equivalent-viii-t01534 

• The Castle created by Jorge Mendez Blake in 2007 - site-specific installation combining sculpture, literature and architecture to explore the power of literature and its influence on our perception of physical spaces. The inspiration for the piece came from the novel “The Castle” by Franz Kafka. The book describes the story of a protagonist trying to gain access to an elusive castle; metaphor for bureaucracy, alienation and the existential struggle of the individual within a complex and inaccessible system. The artist aimed to create a physical representation of that book. It is made up of a single brick wall balanced of top of a single copy of the book. The structure bulges at the site of the inserted book, creating an archway that extends to the top of the mortarless wall. It visually explores how a small idea, like a book, can have a monumental presence. https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2018/02/the-castle-by-jorge-mendez-blake/ 

• Brick Man produced by Antony Gormley 1980s - it consists of a humanoid figure made out of clay bricks. The use of bricks was to reference the architecture and history of Leeds where the sculpture was sited. The brick creates an interesting juxtaposition between the organic human form and the industrial quality of the bricks; it invites a discourse between the human body and our built environments. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brick_Man 

My Development with Brick Forms

The reasoning behind choosing the brick and breeze block forms is the construction of the theatre. It is steel, concrete and breeze block clad with bricks. From the outside, the community knows the theatre as the red brick building on the hill.

Before exploring bricks physically, I played around with images of the theatre that I took and have been sketching bricks and bricks forms.

Taxonomy of practice: ‘playing’ with the possible commissions for Theatr Clwyd

In the context of art, a taxonomy of practice refers to the categorisation or classification of different artistic practices and approaches. Artists often blur the boundaries between categories developing their own styles and ways of working. I am predominately a ceramicist who creates conceptual pieces. For this research, I am going to apply the themes of sustainability, playfulness and community engagement to my own practice and explore the commissions proposed by the Public Art Steering Group at Theatr Clwyd; creating a new taxonomy of practice to aid my research.

Mould making

I decided to explore the form through slip casting; I wanted to ‘play’ around with the materiality as play is one of the themes I am exploring. Bricks are solid and strong, slip casting creates light weight hollow forms. I also made the decision to use porcelain. Porcelain is known to be one of the most expensive clays associated with expensive desirable objects. I wanted to elevate the brick form from being a functional object we all disregard to a decorative desirable object. 

To make these I needed to make a mould to be able to slip cast the brick forms:

The process begins with a model, for this project it was an engineering brick. The model needs to have a smooth surface and able to withstand moisture. I applied a lacquer to the brick before I poured on the plaster.

To create this mould, I designed a 6 piece plaster mould that would release the brick effectively and not require much fettling. Once the mould was completed, I left it in a drying cupboard for a week for the plaster to dry. The plaster needs to be able to soak up some of the water from the clay slip I pour in to it, leaving behind a skin when the rest is poured out, creating the cast.

I then needed to prepare casting slip. I used a standard porcelain body. the recipe for the slip is 12.5kg of clay, 3 pints of water and 20g of deflocculant. Deflocculant is a chemical additive used in slip casting to improve the fluidity and workability of the slip. It is added to the slip to disperse and suspend the clay particles more effectively, reducing viscosity and allowing for easier pouring and mould filling without losing the strength in the cay if more water was added.

Here are a few of the pieces I have created using this mould:

I spotted this brick in the wall of Buckley Town Hall, where the maker had squeezed it when removing it from the mould, similar to my squished brick forms. I also inflated and deflated bricks whilst playing with the form.

Through sitting on the Public Art Steering Group, I learnt about the different commissions that the theatre are hoping to achieve. One was around lighting the flytower externally. I decided to explore this with the bricks to light them up etc. Another, was around words and people receiving or leaving words as they visit the theatre. I put some words in some of the bricks that were only revealed when the lights were on.

Around this time, I went on my first building tour during the construction. I was struck by the amount of breeze blocks internally that have been revealed due to the construction. I decided to make a mould of a  breeze block and cast breeze blocks as well as bricks. I wanted to create a form that reads as a heavy object but is light weight - playing with materiality.

The mould was incredibly hard to make; the breeze block, even though I sealed it, still soaked up the plaster and it broke on the first try. I then painted the block to seal it some more. It took four attempts to finally get a working mould. This is because of the texture on the block and how the plaster stuck to all the undercuts. I then made several porcelain blocks. I played with the form by breaking some, applying different surface colour and squeezing the form.

I had the opportunity to fire a few bricks in the soda kiln:

Plan going forward

I am in talks with the theatre about creating a Theatr Clwyd clay body from the earth being dug up as part of the renovations. The hope is to process the earth into a workable clay body to be used with community groups to produce bricks for the new sensory garden. I will be able to explore sustainability (locally sourced materials) and the community engagement aspects of the research through this project. I want to create a new questionnaire that I can ask students who help with the clay processing and the community workshops about their well-being while they are part of the project and if it helped their well-being etc. 

I am having some setbacks with getting some clay to test as the local authority have asked for all earth leaving the site to be tested first. 

References

Heeney, Gwen, Brickworks, A & C Black, London, 2003

Leick, Gwendoline, Creating the Yellow Brick Road Symposium, 1999