Photographs by Max Slaven. Made with support from Creative Scotland.
On the 3rd March 2024, my brother, Jacob, returned to the UK without telling anyone. It was his first time back in 15 years. Walking down Haddon Drive, he spotted the house of his old friend, Tom. The front door was slightly open, so he walked inside.
Standing in Tom’s living room, Jacob looked towards the now disused fireplace and remembered one of his friend’s many sayings: “If a bird falls down a chimney it means death’s approaching.” But isn’t that quite obvious, as if a bird falls down a chimney it’s probably dead.
a blizzard in slow motion combines Jacob’s audio recordings, gleaned whilst inside the house of his old friend, with a series of ceramic sculptures that I have produced in response. The sculptures take their formal departure from a fireback; a cast iron slab sitting at the back of a fireplace designed to simultaneously protect the bricks of a building from fire, whilst also radiating heat back into the room.
[***] The audio work is 50 minutes long and begins on the hour every hour.
Earthenware and Lead Glaze.