Guy Howe Conners

My graduate collection, ‘Strange by Nature’, explores combining organic, natural forms with a hyper-synthetic aesthetic. With the climate crisis intensifying I have developed an interest in our relationship with the natural world. I am particularly fascinated by our ability to take natural resources and manufacture them into contemporary goods/services. From this evolved the concept of taking a natural subject and manipulating it to appear as artificial as possible. The final pieces in the collection retain a fundamental sense of organicism but appear synthetic, almost alien.

My graduate collection ‘Strange by Nature’ explores to what extent organic, natural forms can be combined with a hyper-synthetic aesthetic. My love of nature, especially botany has inspired my creativity from an early age. However, with time my work has become less concerned with replicating sources figuratively. Instead, I have been increasingly interested in abstraction and distortion.

With the climate crisis intensifying there is now a long-established discourse surrounding what we design, make, consume, and waste. As a result, some materials have been villainised, especially those which utilise finite resources such as oil, e.g., plastics. I became interested in the process of manufacture and manipulation which allows us to transform raw natural materials into new, useable products.

While I often gravitate towards natural forms as a source of inspiration, I wanted to go further than examining these on an aesthetic/surface level. Consequently, I developed the ironic concept of taking a natural object and making it appear as man-made/faux and synthetic as possible. The pieces in this collection appear almost unrelated to the natural forms from which they are inspired. Instead, an ethereal, distant organicism is retained and blended with a contemporary artificiality.

My process of abstraction was aided by a diverse source of influences, namely science fiction, graffiti, makeup, and fashion. This has resulted in the creation of a collection which is bold, bright and fantastical. Using spray paints has allowed me to create subtle gradients and blends in a mix of gaudy, almost saccharine shades. I find that the colour and texture gives a slightly edible appearance, like otherworldy sweets!

With a background in textiles and painting, I have always found colour an essential part of my work. Last year there was limited access to workshop facilities, consequently I worked primarily in paper and fabric on a large scale. This allowed me to freely explore colour, shape and pattern. I felt it was essential to carry this into my graduate collection.

Studio access resumed this year and I wanted to return to metal. Consequently, I faced the challenge of combining this with the vibrant colour I love. I regularly pass the canal here in Edinburgh, with its walls layered in graffiti. Drawn to its bulging forms, intense colours and texture, I was inspired to use spray paints. These have become an essential material in my practice and I have used them throughout most of the collection.

The majority of pieces are made with brass and copper sheet; using doming punches I have curved this into smooth organic shapes. However, I have also worked with sterling silver, mainly in the ‘Bubble’ mini-collection. Here I experimented with cutting and joining domes to create highly perfected, fluid forms.  These pieces are mirror polished, a process which was challenging but very rewarding too. In future, combining silver, doming and spray paints is an area I would like to explore.

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Guy