L Autumn Gnadinger

Statement: Folk Utilities (2015-present) is a series of found-and-altered construction elements that were once ubiquitous functional objects of the modern built environment - comprising of electrical resistors, switches, faucet knobs, and others - that have since been replaced with their contemporary derivatives of other materials. Taken together, they represent a dead (or temporary) language in the parlance of their respective trades. In Folk Electrician (2017) and Folk Plumber (2017) the objects (all being ceramic) have been reglazed and refired, trapping the built up materials like soot or wood ash in the surfaces. The result is a collection of pieces that are caught between definitions as either archival or aesthetic objects. This aims to reclaim/celebrate the language and material knowledge and, at the same time, disrupts a linear sense of history.