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Catalogue number: 57
Artist: Matthew Merttens
Title: Scorched Craft - The Wainwrights School Desk
Medium: Wood - Scorched and Carved British Ash
Dimensions: 90x105x55
Rooted in Arts & Crafts ideals, Scorched Craft warns of the future we risk when craft fades from education. Through collaboration with an old master wainwright, the piece contrasts form & decoration.
The work of the Arts & Crafts Movement has long been an inspiration – I am committed to using my craft as maker, writer and teacher to fight for a better society, much in line with that which Ruskin and Morris passionately called for. This piece, Scorched Craft, is both a lament and a call to action to change our education system. A response to my award winning research, it carries a provocation: what future do we risk if craft is diminished within education?
Craft in its broadest sense, as engaged, practical knowing, is continually reduced in curricula. This neglect closes us off from the material world around us. Scorched Craft demands renewed attention – an insistence that craft education is not a luxury, but a foundation for cultural and human sustainability, a place where creativity, identity and belonging are cultivated through making.
Through collaboration with Len Hayward, a retired master wainwright, the piece contrasts the symbolism of this endangered craft with the form of an old fashioned school desk. Its scorched surfaces speak of loss, yet careful looking reveals a truth: the dignity of labour, the dialogue between maker and material, and the carvings that reveal the Ash, representing hope and potential revival.
The exhibition runs until 30 September. Once a purchase has been completed, buyers may choose either to collect their artwork free of charge from Standen House on 2 October, or to have the work professionally packed, insured and couriered by Sussex Contemporary. Delivery charges vary according to the size, weight and value of each artwork and are detailed on the individual product page before purchase.
Catalogue number: 57
Artist: Matthew Merttens
Title: Scorched Craft - The Wainwrights School Desk
Medium: Wood - Scorched and Carved British Ash
Dimensions: 90x105x55
Rooted in Arts & Crafts ideals, Scorched Craft warns of the future we risk when craft fades from education. Through collaboration with an old master wainwright, the piece contrasts form & decoration.
The work of the Arts & Crafts Movement has long been an inspiration – I am committed to using my craft as maker, writer and teacher to fight for a better society, much in line with that which Ruskin and Morris passionately called for. This piece, Scorched Craft, is both a lament and a call to action to change our education system. A response to my award winning research, it carries a provocation: what future do we risk if craft is diminished within education?
Craft in its broadest sense, as engaged, practical knowing, is continually reduced in curricula. This neglect closes us off from the material world around us. Scorched Craft demands renewed attention – an insistence that craft education is not a luxury, but a foundation for cultural and human sustainability, a place where creativity, identity and belonging are cultivated through making.
Through collaboration with Len Hayward, a retired master wainwright, the piece contrasts the symbolism of this endangered craft with the form of an old fashioned school desk. Its scorched surfaces speak of loss, yet careful looking reveals a truth: the dignity of labour, the dialogue between maker and material, and the carvings that reveal the Ash, representing hope and potential revival.
The exhibition runs until 30 September. Once a purchase has been completed, buyers may choose either to collect their artwork free of charge from Standen House on 2 October, or to have the work professionally packed, insured and couriered by Sussex Contemporary. Delivery charges vary according to the size, weight and value of each artwork and are detailed on the individual product page before purchase.