GOLEMIC

Works relating to "Biscuits and Bricks" an exhibition by the Reading Guild of Artists at the Turbine House Gallery, Reading, September 2022.

ABOUT "GOLEMIC"

We know that biscuits and bricks both come, ultimately, from the ground; the biscuits formed from wheat and sugar cane products, and the bricks formed from clay. 

When starting to prepare for this "Biscuits and Bricks" show I knew that I would refer to the built environment in some way, as in my mainstream work. My observations and exploration therefore encompassed playful characterisations of brick patterns, and the riverside buildings at the site of the former Huntley and Palmer’s factory in Reading.

The idea of formation from clay, however, kept prompting me to follow up on the myth of the Golem, a living creature made from the muddy clay of a riverbank. The creature's initial purpose is to serve its community in a crisis, but it runs wild and causes problems.

This story has long been associated with the theme of industrial and technological creations running astray, as seen for example in Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein” and Fritz Lang’s “Metropolis”.

The theme is no less relevant today, where industrial and technological legacies, climate concerns, and questions about artificial intelligence are all subjects of ongoing polemic.

In this work “Golemic” then, the “Golem” is a hard rectangular brick-like form, embellished with a character of brick and tile pattern. It rises up against a background of riverside buildings, and holds a circular “biscuit” in the "mouth" area of its head. Below all of this, a blade of wheat rises from the same ground, and as in much of my recent work, a reddish atmosphere of particles pervades the scene.

The smaller companion pieces are lighter hearted, taking typical terms and sayings related to biscuits as their cue.

Michael Garaway

September 2022