Lobster Pot and Other Plastics

It had been my intention to make a beach combing collection whilst on holiday at the Llyn Peninsula this summer as I’ve wanted to return to making assemblages as I did nearly 20 years ago. Even further back at Shave Farm in 1992 I made two small reliefs which I have always loved and these too were in the back of my mind.

Whilst in Wales I photographed a plastic lobster pot on Criccieth beach. One side of the lobster pot was ripped open and the netting was broken.   I liked that I could see through the netting and its sculptural qualities which reminded me of Tony Cragg's sculptures and drawings. I have also made a lot of work based  around a  lobster pot  fisherman who has featured in earlier work (these are two links that lead to previous posts about that work).  I left it on the beach, having too much else to carry that day, however, when I posted it on Instagram some people asked if I'd taken home.

The top part of the beach is covered in pieces of plastic, so much of it was washed up on the shore, Alan was horrified and environmentally so was I, but aesthetically I was in my element, the subdued colours  and the fact that the pieces were scratched and snarled reminded me of my collage pieces. I picked up some pieces and tried out some small arrangements back at the cottage.                          

I wanted to go  back before we left Wales and the this time I was prepared with plastic carrier bags to collect more pieces.  I also hoped that  the  lobster pot would still be there. 
                                                     
After a while Alan got fed up  and wanted to go, but at least I had managed to fill one of my bags with plastic. I was just about to leave when I spotted the lobster pot sitting at the edge of the sea.  

I brought it back home and for now it is sitting in the back garden.

Coastal Responses 3

      Work made on my return home             

My initial response was to work back into the carousel book we began from the objects we collected - in a much looser manner

Later I worked back into the book  developing images from the photographs

Costal Responses 1

Ravenglass

I had not expected to visit the sea or that the different places would be so contrasting. I only knew  Ravenglass  for the miniature railway I remember being taken to long ago. A wide variety of seascape in quite a small area, offering surprising beachcombing potential.

Significant Summer Developments 3

At the end of the summer I went back to the family home and found a number of  old and worn Penguin books from the 1940s. They are in a fantastic dilapidated state.  I photographed the fronts, backs and spines, but was also attracted to the adverts in the back which has also begun to feature in my work alongside the newspaper bookmark from that period

More recently I bought  some penguin paperbacks from the same period on eBay,  I was disappointed to discover that the description promising very poor and torn  didn't quite live up to my expectations