Bricks for Walls, Bricks for Windows is part of a larger series titled Sculpture From Other Sculptors’ Sculptures in which the unwanted sculpture of other artists is recovered and transformed. The piece originated from working with the ceramic waste of Mexican-American artist Yvette Mayorga, who makes work about the US-Mexico border. The first iteration was made from a simple mix of concrete and Mayorga's crushed ceramics. The second iteration was created at the Medalta Artist in Residence program in the summer of 2019 by working with potters and sculptors also taking part in the residency. Waste ceramic from these eight different artists was crushed and combined with local clay and brick grog from the historic I-XL factory, formerly Redcliff Pressed Brick Company. Each brick was embossed with either the word “WALL” or “WINDOW” to symbolically represent each artists’ preferred use for the brick in response to today's political and environmental situation (for example, a brick for a wall to improve society or divide it, or a brick for vandalism or revolution).
Unwanted ceramic sculpture, I-XL brick grog, Medicine Hat local clay, glaze_9” x 4.35” x 2.5”_2019
Unwanted ceramic sculpture, I-XL brick grog, Medicine Hat local clay, glaze_9” x 4.35” x 2.5”_2019
Once fired, these bricks were then used for a site-specific performance in the old brick kilns of I-XL, and on waste brick mounds around the factory. Actual bricks from I-XL were used alongside the artists' bricks to build a wall in the kiln (the historical method for closing the kiln when it was operational), and windows from Medicine Hat Hycroft Pottery were smashed on the mounds.