Too many eggs?

Dear Sam,

Regarding the brass egg boxes, this theme of packaging is something that I have been interested in for a long time.  It started with noticing the boxes that are left out for recycling in the evenings – how sculptural they are but also the network that spreads out – the goods inside, the transport across the world, the qualities of the cardboard.  In November last year, I went on a residency to Mexico (have you been there? – it was an amazing experience and I’d love to go back).  I didn’t take anything so all the work I made was scavenged from or inspired by what I found in the markets and streets.  The studio itself was in quite a rough area and I had to get an uber back to the flat in the evening, but could walk up in the morning.  On my way I passed a cafe with tall piles of empty egg trays outside and eventually asked to take them.   They seemed so universal and yet the piles kept growing everyday, so really local in terms of numbers of eggs being cooked!!  

I spent my time transforming and playing with what I found, and collaborating with local craftsmen.  I often think about how we assign value and wanted to play with the contrast between bronze and card.  Asking around, I found a foundry that a lot of the Mexican artists I met used.   I was interested that they often cast in brass but call it bronze – interesting because the difference between the two is so slight with same amount of copper and a small amount of zinc instead of other alloys. The result is more yellow which I really liked and I left it unpainted so that the metal quality shows through. 

I made two pairs.  Each pair is the two sides of a part of a single egg box. If you look carefully you can see the inside creases on one reflected in the outside of the other – like a dent in a piece of card. Again another theme I return to is the excitement of noticing slight differences – from front to back or between pieces. If you click here you’ll see the photos of the work and here are the brass pieces.

I hope this gives you a bit of background.  

Clare