2013 Pressed into Service
The emergence of a super-city, by necessity generates a new level of bureaucracy. One of the most permeating icons of bureaucratic systems is the Stamp; a representation of authority reduced to the most basic process of mimeography. The phrase “to rubber stamp” means to move papers from one office to the next; to approve uncritically or pass routinely. Through centuries of layered officialdom, the rubber stamp has become a symbol of excessive bureaucracy. My clay objects incorporate intaglio and relief imprints from a variety of public places around Auckland. The process of collecting the imprints has left ‘hand pressure’ impressions in the clay – creating a spontaneous ‘handle’ and turning the objects into strange ergonomic stamps. But what happens to the stamp when its historical and bureaucratic context is reinvented? These stamps are made from clay, a material that has been used for centuries to create artefacts and build civilizations. Archaeologists use it to date ancient finds, providing us with insights about our own time and place. My ‘clay stamps’ provide a link between Auckland’s past, present and future. Our city’s public places are as much about the people as time and place; about the possibilities they offer to Aucklanders as individuals and communities. My stamps bring impressions of public places back into the gallery - not to be loaded with ink but with intentions, hopes, meanings. Nathan Homestead at one time housed council offices.
