Advertising does not sell reality – it sells fantasies. Dreams of what might be. A future always necessarily deferred. A conjuring trick, which, when discovered, does not diminish the wonder of seeing the trick performed again and again.
The project “Best China” simulated the theatre of a 1970’s dinner party table dressed for six people. The dinnerware was made from terracotta clay in a formal design and decorated in a nostalgic style with colours and patterns evocative of the 1970s, overlaid with text and imagery reminiscent of UK food advertising from the period.
Each plate depicted a different aspect of enviable social status promoted by the hosts. The images were predominantly humorous although did include a commentary on gender disparity of the time as well as the role of advertising to promote an artificiality of consumerism.
Nostalgia for early childhood memories from the 1960’s and 70’s created an original style through experimenting with materials and techniques to add colour, pattern and figurative elements to functional pottery. This language of nostalgia delivered a commentary on the enduring role of advertising as it continues to embed consumerism into contemporary culture and accelerates social and environmental decline.
