Recently I visited the original Spode factory site (in use 1720-2008) in Stoke-on-Trent. The historical building is one of the venues for the British Ceramics Biennial (BCB) and is currently being used to exhibit the work of five Biennial-commissioned artists. Vast ranges of ceramics are displayed from porcelain and bone china to bricks and roof tiles. There is much to see and learn so a visit to the Biennial is a must if you are in the area.
Aside from the BCB, I was fortunate enough to get a private tour of the derelict factory from Darren Washington, the curator and photographer of an exhibition that runs retrospectively with the British Ceramics Biennial.
Upon entering the extraordinary workshop, I was immediately drawn to photographs that lined the crumbling walls of the derelict warehouse. The images showed the roles of the individual employees who once worked on the site and the diverse activities involved in the pottery process. The photos take you on a journey around the site, bringing a sense of nostalgia with them and making the observer experience the smells and sounds of a working pottery.
This feeling is reinforced by original recollections being described on a film documentary, which runs in the background as part of the exhibition. Viewers are drawn to see, hear and experience the individual memories of ex-workers reminiscing about their time at Spode.
The images and film documentary form Memories of Spode — a two-year exploration of the 10-acre factory, produced and directed by self-taught photographer, Darren Washington.
Memories of Spode has been achieved with no external funding and purely on the passion for creating a project to show and highlight Stoke-on-Trent’s heritage as it is slowly forgotten. From experiencing this wistful exhibition through the factory’s non-working state, we are able to see the effects of what happens to buildings when they are left with no human inhabitants. Spode factory is a prime example of what is happening to many redundant buildings in the city. In the words of Darren Washington: “The exhibition is bringing life into the factory. The aim is not to show it as a derelict factory but as a working factory too”.
Perhaps this is the way forward for Stoke-on-Trent. But by holding on to these “permanent” structures, are we allowing change to take place? With Cedric Price’s theory of impermanent architecture in mind, I wonder whether re-using these buildings to meet the changing needs of the city would help to reinforce its image?
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