“Analogue” (2016). Photo by Vizz Creative. All images © Anne Butler, shared with permission
Artist Anne Butler cites the porcelain pieces that comprise her ongoing Objects of Time series as being “witness to their own history.” From her studio in Carryduff, Butler recreates 20th Century technologies like rotary telephones and typewriters through an array of techniques from casting and carving to assembly—watch her process in the video below. Brimming with texture and striking in dimension, the analog works explore cultural memory, associations to history and personal use, and the impressions these items have left on the world long after they’ve fallen from widespread use.
Butler shares with Colossal that each of the objects was an important part of her childhood and that the building process reflects its mechanics. The intricately slotted “Analogue,” which replicates her family’s phone, relied on low-tech templates to create the thin Parian porcelain sheets that, once dried, the artist interlocked into their final shape. Similarly, “Remnant” and “Shift” both layer hundreds of individual slabs into keys and sewing tools that are slightly skewed and indicative of their hand-built construction. These irregularities reference the imperfection of the humanmade in comparison to the precision that’s possible with automation.
As she expands Objects of Time, Butler plans to reproduce kitchen scales and her first SLR camera, so keep an eye on Instagram for those works. If you’re in London, you can see “Shift” at Two Temple Place between May 11 and 14 as part of Eye of the Collector. You also might enjoy Yoonmi Nam’s worn sketchbooks. (via Lustik)
Detail of “Analogue” (2016). Photo by Vizz Creative
Left: “Shift” (2018). Right: “Stack” (2020). Photo by Bob Given
Detail of “Shift” (2018). Photo by Vizz Creative
Detail of “Shift” (2018). Photo by Vizz Creative
“Remnant” (2018). Photo by Vizz Creative
Detail of “Remnant” (2018). Photo by Vizz Creative
Detail of “Remnant” (2018). Photo by Vizz Creative
Detail of “Shift” (2018). Photo by Vizz Creative
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Source: Art - thisiscolossal.com
