David Rhys Jones

Based at Blackbird Studio in Lewes, East Sussex; David has a work space in a very old building (parts of it are late medieval). Layers of history are a recurring theme in his work as well as an interest in architecture.

Informed by journeys or site-specific locations, David records images using photography and drawings. The image becomes an object, a hybrid of sculpture and photography. He then applies these images to forms which were developed whilst studying for his MA at Central Saint Martin, using ceramic pigments and fired at 800°C, making them light fast and permanent. This process is an updated version of transfer printing that goes back several hundred years - if you think of a blue willow pattern plate, the blue is just as vibrant as when first fired in the kiln. The same applies to David’s work - it will look no different in a few hundred years time.