Crafting Hybrids

Hybrid n. thing composed with incongruous elements. (From Concise Oxford Dictionary, sixth edition 1978.)

Hybridisation is a strengthening process commonly seen in plant cultivation to improve yields and hardiness. In contemporary making, hybrid objects can bring together unexpected combinations of materials and ideas, creating a pleasing but sometimes unsettling aesthetic.

This exhibition will examine objects and the creative practitioners who make them: sharing delight and wonder in sometimes strange but often beautiful objects; and providing inspiring and diverse role models through examination of the lives and work of “hybrid” makers and designers.

To be a designer-maker in these troubled times, strength and ferocity of purpose are definitely an asset. Those who embrace their materials exploration in brave ways, unafraid to juxtapose unusual and unlikely materials intrigue us, for the vigour of their approach and the pleasing surprises that eventuate. Similarly, the maker who is also a qualified engineer or a midwife is impressive for the breadth of knowledge s/he must have built up, and her/his ability to develop parallel capacities to deliver in very different fields. There is real power in a creative mind that is also able to address construction, management consultancy, medicine or some other specialist field with complete commitment and expertise. This exhibition will celebrate selected strong individuals and their work.