Artist in Residence: Jonny Briggs

Artist Jonny Briggs is truly innovative in his application of glass during his residency. We are so excited to see his finished pieces and how they will look in his engaging, endearing and often very funny photographs.

"The past month at The Glass Foundry I've been making panes of glass with glass ears coming out of them. I've also been working on a spherical mask with my dad's nose and chin growing out of it, that's worn by my foot. This will be out of lead crystal, and will weigh my foot to the ground, restricting my movement.

The piece references my childhood aspiration of being like Cinderella, and the crystal ball as an attempt to look to the future. I've been struck by the processes of construction - destruction - reconstruction while working with glass (making a sculpture, then making a silicone negative mould, then a wax positive cast, then destroying the silicone mould to release the wax, then a plaster negative mould, then destroying the wax inside, then making a glass positive cast, then destroying the plaster mould),

These translations between positive and negative bring me intimately close with the object being made. I'll work with these props for a new series of photographs, to play with object/image relations exploring my upbringing.

Throughout the process, Fiaz and Jade have been so patient and generously shared their knowledge and talent to make the works possible. It's been a valuable month for me both creatively and personally, and I feel so grateful for the experience."