Ceramic artwork enlivens St Austell
AN impressive new piece of public art, created by a cutting-edge ceramic designer, has been installed at Grant’s Walk in St Austell.
The artwork by ceramicist Matt Davis, entitled ‘As Above, So Below’, has transformed the covered passageway leading into the town centre by introducing a tactile, tessellated ceramic tiling made from china clay.
In an abstract way, the design references the landscape of St Austell and celebrates its rich china clay heritage – with the ceramic tiles signifying the white clay tips, dark clay pits and their edges making its coastline.
Matt’s distinctive style uses 3D design and emerging technologies to produce geometric pieces. His commission for St Austell uses hexagon shapes positioned in a repetitive pattern. Complemented by mirrors and lighting, the passageway is illuminated – providing a lighter, safer, more visually pleasing space.
This commission is one of 14 new pieces of art being made especially for St Austell and set to take residency in the town centre over the coming year. Once completed, together they will form a new public art trail created by the Whitegold Project – one half of the Austell Project, which aims to use art, horticulture and culture as a means for regeneration.
Matt says: “This is a very special project for me because it’s my first-large scale public art installation. I was hugely excited to embrace the new technical challenge and didn’t take lightly the opportunity to hopefully make a difference to the town.”