Future craft:research exposition

Abstract

Past, Present and Future Craft Practice has sought to use the Future Craft exposition as a vehicle for showcasing its research. The exposition was chosen over the exhibition as it opens up a dialogue with the audience on the work undertaken. The work is presented in a number of ways, through text, diagrams and objects, with the aim of providing the viewer with the thoughtful journeyundertaken by the researchers within the project team. The exposition is concerned with revealing knowledge and generating an understanding of the process behind the work. Objects contain very dense material; one object can embody thirty or more years of experience within it. Therefore, making theobject the singular focus does not always give access to the level of knowledge required to create it. The exposition seeks to look at process as well as product, to assist the viewer in gaining a fuller understanding of the intention behind the work.This is a research exposition emanating from a five-year project, undertaken by a team of five. Their individual journeys through the process are explored, and collectively they provide insight into the answers sought to the questions established within the Arts and Humanities Research Council grant application. The five individuals have worked both collectively and individually and the resultant picture is necessarily both complex and simple