Grant Aston: RADIOACTIVITAT

One of the most interesting pieces to me was the one called RADIOACTIVITAT made by Grant Aston. This piece of ceramic caught my attention because of its interesting shapes and texture that made it look rough and industrial, like an intricate machine. Reading his website showed me what influenced his work and really added to the feel of the piece, like the green glaze making the piece look toxic because of his influences of nuclear power and our use of it. With each piece being deformed and put together in a distorted way, it seems to suggest an unnatural assembly of this object. The brown clay being exposed underneath the green glaze makes it seem as if our use of nuclear power has destroyed the natural world, and covered the earth in a toxic and deadly substance.

The title of Grant's piece is also the title of the song and album by Kraftwerk, who are a german electro band during the 80s. On Grant's website he says how the song's "melancholic tones suggest something of the uncomfortable relationship we have with something that is integral to how we live our lives but incredibly volatile", i feel like "uncomfortable relationship" sums up the ceramic's structure and the artist's feelings being reflected in this piece.