Breathe at Manchester Craft & Design Centre
Sara Jaspan, Exhibitions Editor
Breathe at Manchester Craft & Design Centre presents a pioneering collaboration between the winners of the 2017 MMU Graduate Award, Jahday Ford and Joseph Hillary, who have combined their skills in the field of glass making and digital design to remarkable effect.
Inspired by digital craftsman Michael Eden, Ford and Hillary have developed a new form of design that embodies the individuality of the maker within its very essence. By recording the sound of Ford blowing into the blowing iron and using digital design techniques to convert the visual sound wave into a 3D mold, the two makers have managed to give physical shape to the first breath that gives birth to any blown piece. Thus, encapsulating some part of themselves intrinsically within the shape of the work.
The idea behind this innovative approach came about through a shared desire to preserve the individuality and connection to the maker that manufactured pieces often lack. The results, exhibited in Breathe, promise to change the way we think about the relationship between design and designer, craft and craftsman.
