Realm of Dusk

“Losing their names, these things underwent a process of uncreation and reverted to chaos, existing only to themselves in an unstructured world where they were not formally acknowledged, becoming an ever-widening margin of undifferentiated and nameless matter surrounding the outposts of man, who no longer made himself familiar with these things or rendered them authentic in his experience by the gift of naming.”
— Angela Carter, Heroes & Villains

Things, though they might seem concrete, always have the potential to change. They can break, melt, rot, be recycled and lose their functions. We are saturated with objects, symbols and things that can become easily overlooked. The artists both accumulate and recycle found materials and objects (both human-made and natural), paying close attention to the detritus and waste of human activity. These discarded objects have been dislodged from their original meanings and purposes and through the process of casting in metal we shift their meanings again: negatives are made positive, things overlooked are seen.

The gallery becomes a large scale assemblage of metal cast works and found materials, thronging through and around that ubiquitous symbol of change in the landscape, the temporary site fence.

Tom Sewell & Sebastian Thomas are two artists working with assemblage as a key part of both of their practices. This collaborative exhibition foregrounds sculptural processes, DIY casting techniques and installation. The majority of the metalwork in the show has been created on site in Thomas’ studio at Open Hand Open Space and cast in his foundry on the outskirts of Reading.