This work is a macquette of a dug out canoe. This boat was made with a knife rather than axe and adze, but finished with bitumen, as many ancient boats were. Making a full sized dug-out one my own would take – I have learned – weeks if not months of work, so it was not an option for this development project in which I wanted to make a body of work rather than a single piece.
The macquette however is a good way by which to understand Dug-outs materially and explore it as an idea. Thematically this macquette follows the same interests and themes as Doggerland, Imagined Heritage and the project as a whole.
As this work has no accompanying performance I struggled with how it might be displayed… pages and pages of my sketchbook are taken up with designs and experiments. In the end I was glad to collaborate with another artist, Clare Hamilton, inviting her to create a ceramic tile to act as base. Though we discussed the work, the response was entirely Clare’s own, and I enjoy the deep brutal black of the boat alongside the natural sand colour of her tile.
Jim Lockey 