NATURECULTURES : Thomas Duggan
Thomas’ body of work ‘Naturecultures’ is informed by a theoretical study and hybridity between the human-hand and the self-assembling abilities of more-than-human worlds.
Often using tooling designed and built by Thomas, in this exhibition he combines traditional craft and advanced technologies resulting in works that seem both ancient and contemporary.
Presented at Circle are a series of sculptures describing an investigative process of material and method, reinterpreting nature’s forms and materials from the nanoscale to the architectural.
The works shown in this space are an exploration of material science, robotic fabrication and traditional craft.
Thomas uses advanced AI learning and 3D modelling to create tens of thousands of lines of digital code to sculpt biomimetic forms and drawings using advanced robotic fabrication.
The works are then crafted by hand using many layers of thinly applied porcelain slip. The pieces are inspired by the immediate surroundings of his studio, located within an ancient forest in Cornwall, where a freshwater stream meets the sea.
The works are reminiscent of sea urchins, trees, sedimentary rock formations and celestial bodies.
A new and unique formula of porcelain has been specially developed in collaboration with IMERYS to produce this work, using bioethanol instead of water.
