Vibrations in Steel Replace Vocal Cords
welded stainless steel nuts, builders sand, cast aluminium, cast iron, film, sound piece played at voice level
After exhibiting sculptural work at 'DOK', the last remaining building from Henry Robb Shipyard in Leith, Edinburgh (then converted into an art gallery but recently closed), I realised my grandad had worked on this now-defunct shipyard as a Shipwright. What began as an investigation into a personal family connection, lead on to further consideration of wider issues of class, gender, labour, skill and reproduction which produced this installation.
DOK Artist Space closed its doors for the last time in January 2019. ‘Vibrations in Steel Replace Vocal Cords’ was shown again as part of the closing event. The text from this work, this time printed instead of spoken, was left as the final remaining artwork on the walls of the Steel Shed once occupied by Henry Robb workers.