We have had the opportunity to question the boundaries of art and craft through the insights of 6 artists who, besides widening our curiosity, have raised fascinating matters. We have explored this through a series of conversations and photographs from Tommy Smits, Maria de la O Garrido, Pina San, Nam Tram, Campbell McConnel and Letty Houldsworth, talking about their practice and where it sits among this topic.
After some fantastic discussions, we have engaged with the many pressures and possibilities that these two concepts hold. Here are some excerpts as a sneak peek:
“I am very intrigued by the idea of utility which connects all objects like an all-encompassing line that goes from pure function to the complete disappearance of any apparent use. Through the vases, I am exploring how with an almost zero degree of intervention, a minimal aspect of utility can emerge. It fascinates me how such an insignificant gesture, such as adding a hole into a surface, can have this radically transformative quality.” – Pina Saan
“It feels like you have to fill every gap by doing something useful. It is then that I think that we need to do useless things. Take your time to do something that is for nothing. Do it as resistance against everything you know. Time is like money, and we don’t have much. So, what you do with it is a statement. Doing unuseful things is useful.” –Maria de la O Garrido