Focus: Craig Hoy

(sur)face value

Wheel throwing and raku are where my passion lies.  There is something mesmerising yet challenging about ‘conversations’ with clay when throwing on the wheel.  I always remember Thancoupie saying to me “Bala Boy, who am I to tell the Earth what to do!?!”  At its core, it discusses a respect for the Earth, for clay, for materials – letting them have a life of their own, the maker’s marks, a balance between craft and nature. There is also a direct link to aesthetic in the title of the show – that glorious ancient surface raku can create and the play it has on the sitters depicted through it’s process.

What I love about raku firing, is it’s elemental connectedness and exciting immediacy, predictable unpredictability that taps into something ancient.  I love the scars they bear – testament to their experiences and their survival.  Sometimes the more damaged they are, the more I like them!  To the point where structural failure (cracking etc.) is something that can make a piece even more special!  I use these thoughts and processes and effects as humanistic metaphors.

These works depict human experiences.  They are human.  We all bare our scars and carry the weight of our experiences differently.  Some are pulled down by them and can’t escape.  Some revel in life regardless.  Here, there is ability and disability.  There is loss and life.  Love, grief and fun.  We are all human I guess and can relate to a lot of this.