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Marl Hole. British Ceramics Biennial, Artists into Industry curated Project.

Marl Hole was a site specific project conceived and curated by Brownsword for the 2009 British Ceramic Biennial’s 'Artists into Industry' programme. It explored concepts of artistic dislocation within the context of North Staffordshire's indigenous clay deposits - fundamental to its success as a ceramic manufacturing centre. 3 international artists were invited by Brownsword to respond to clay in its geographic abundance at one of Ibstock Brick's largest UK quarries. By stripping away the familiarity of one's studio, tools, materials and working practices this research led to new innovations in the articulation of raw clay in its varied states, through a range of ephemeral interventions.

Brownsword's investigations centred upon clay's plastic ability to record human labour on an unprecedented scale by coordinating the quarries' earth movers to restage routine actions. As outputs were transient, film maker Johnny Magee documented artist responses as new modes of exploring clay within the landscape were exposed. The film 'Marl Hole' has been screened world-wide, and its underpinning research disseminated nationally and internationally though events and publications. Marl Hole inspired Torbjorn Kvasbo’s Raw Material project, (Norway 2012) which extended its concepts through collective collaboration.

Although rooted in the conceptual language of Land Art, Marl Hole’s unique contributions centre upon the insights of material specific practitioner’s innate knowledge of clay and the application of this when working site specifically. It contributes to current discourse surrounding the expanded field of ceramics where the medium of film has come to articulate the materials ephemerality. It was also a seminal contribution to the BCB’s strategy of cultural regeneration, as the international networks Brownsword established have now developed to become core investors/partners to its festival programme (Bergen Academy of Art and Design). In recognition of his creativity and achievement across contemporary ceramic practice, Brownsword won the Biennial's 2009 One-Off Award.