Basketware Pots.
With Phil Root & Lyde Green Pottery
In the Mesolithic period, clay was used used to waterproof coiled baskets, which were essential for transporting water to crops. After being used, these clay-lined baskets were set aside, drying out and causing the clay to shrink and separate from the basket's sides. The resulting clay "pots" retained the basket pattern. People eventually discovered that these molded pots could be hardened in hot ashes, creating durable pottery.
Collaborating with Bristol-based artist and potter Phil Root to examine the relationship between basketry and pottery. Through collaborative methods and an archaeological perspective, our aim was to explore ways of preserving physical evidence of basketry for the distant future, essentially attempting to time-travel through the practice and application of ancient crafts.
The clay-lined baskets underwent firing at Lyde Green Pottery, reaching temperatures of 1180°C, causing the baskets to ignite, leaving behind only the impressions of their forms in the clay. This project deepened our understanding of sustainable materials and forged a stronger connection with the land across time.
Sacrifice and transformation.
Earth, sticks, fire. Material Cycles.
