MELT DOWN Victoria & Albert Museum, London, 8 June - 22 August 1998 NEVAC has arranged several exhibitions in conjunction with the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and the Ceramics Department at the University of the West of England, Bristol. In 1998 a group of ceramics students and prominent crafts people associated with the University of the West of England visited the V&A to handle artefacts from the metalwork, jewellery and silverware collections. Ceramic artists predominated, but craftspeople from other areas joined in. There was a milliner, an embroiderer, a jeweller, enamellers and printmakers. The makers made an initial visit to the Ceramics Department to handle pots which seemed to have connections with metal and metal working - in particular Hispano-moresque lustre ware and work by Bernard Palissy. The procedure was simple in that many artefacts were handled from the collections and a complex interrogation of the objects began. The exhibition is a display of the work produced as a result of the experience of handling the objects. The exhibition was called MELT DOWN.

	David Robinson is a potter who took part in the 1998 'Melt Down' exhibition. His piece was made from enamelled metal and was based on the V&A's 13th century Chichester grilles. Click on the image for a larger photo of David.
	Conor Wilson is a ceramic artist and former UWE student. He has taken part in previous exhibition collaborations between UWE and the V&A and is particularly known for his sculptural work. He lives and works near Bristol.
	If you click on his image you will see his piece from the 1998 'Melt Down' exhibition. It was inspired by a lock in the V&A's metalwork collection. It is made from red earthenware with onlaid gold leaf decoration.
	Click here for one of Conor Wilson's sketches for the finished piece from the 1998 'Melt Down' exhibition. Conor's work is also included in the 1999 exhibition 'NIPON UK'.
	Click here for one of Conor Wilson's sketches for the finished piece from the 1998 'Melt Down' exhibition. Conor's work is also included in the 1999 exhibition 'NIPON UK'.
	Walter Keeler is Professor of Ceramics at UWE and has several pieces of work in the V&A's own collections. He is renowned as a maker of salt-glazed pottery but his participation in the V&A exhibitions has led to a move towards earthenware and inspiration from 18th century English pottery and porcelain.
	Click here for Walter Keeler's earthenware toast rack, inspired by an 18th century silver toast rack in the V&A's collection.
	Click here for sketches by Walter for the two toast 'machines' he made, one inspired by a silver toast rack and the other by Whieldon pottery.
	This ceramic sculpture by Roger Michell is called 'Europa and the Beef Crisis' and was inspired by a small silver cow creamer from the V&A's collection. Roger is a ceramic artist and tutor at Falmouth College in Cornwall.
	This pot was featured on the Melt Down poster and was made by Paul Sandammeer, a ceramics technician at UWE in Bristol and since October 1999 he has also been a part time student on the MA, Ceramics: Making & Archiving.