Set for discussion Study for strip looks like a dinner set on
display, but it challenges expectations around such sets. Among
the usual pieces – plates, bowls, jugs – are shards, swans,
eyeballs, and skulls. Markings and colloquial messages are
scrawled across some pieces, and others are broken or flawed.
Through the format of domestic pottery, Martin Poppelwell –
potter and visual artist – is investigating language, design,
and the role of art. He says that 'strip' in the title refers to
a disputed physical zone, like the Gaza Strip. So the dinner set
becomes a metaphor for debate. Does art have a role in political
discussion? What is the role of text in art? What is the
relationship between the object and its decoration? Works like
this have earned Poppelwell a strong reputation as a
contemporary potter in New Zealand. Watch an interview with
Martin Poppelwell This text was prepared for the Collecting
Contemporary exhibition, 2011–2012.