ROBERT PRATT McMACHAN

Mirror Mirror, 2005
197cm x 79cm with lighting behind

This is a full-length freestanding mirror decorated with a backlit image of windows and chandeliers running back in perspective to a distant point.

There is a magical allure to a material that acts as a carrier of light yet whose surface must be violated in order to fully exploit that light. Glass can communicate directly as a boundary marker. There is an inside and an outside and glass guards the border.

With these mirrors I aim to examine this relationship with light and space in the simplest way. Glass sheet, though acting as a physical barrier, still allows visual access to the space that it blocks: yet mirror glass creates a simulacrum of space through the reflection of light. I have reinterpreted this concept by imposing my own simulation of space on the mirror plane. The image, sandblasted into the mirror, of an interior lit by glittering chandeliers creates an illusory extra dimension within the reflections.

I look to explore glass simply, bringing out the hidden qualities inherent in an industrial material and working to find ways of utilizing modern digital methods with a craft sensibility.

I have been working with glass for more than 17 years. In the 6-year period between BA and MA, I worked with some well-respected studios and practitioners in England and the USA, in a range of disciplines across the spectrum of glass art and industry; ranging from small-scale kiln casting, glass blowing and hot glass casting to restoration site work and as an industrial glazier. I ‘apprenticed’ myself to people who would allow me access, including the Canterbury Cathedral stained glass restoration workshop, two years with John Lewis’ studio in San Francisco and the David Ruth studio in Oakland, CA.

Since setting up my own studio in 2000 and completing my MA at the Royal College of Art in 2004, I have been granted several awards for my work.

Biography pdf

Robert Pratt McMachan filler

Selected Biography

EDUCATION
2007: University College for the Creative Arts, Workshop Leader.
2006: University of Hertfordshire, Visiting Lecturer.
2006: Croydon College, Visiting Lecturer.
2002 - 2004: MA (RCA) Ceramics and Glass, Royal College of Art, London.
2002: K&T glass, Canterbury.
2000 - 2002: Canterbury Cathedral stained glass restoration workshop.
2000 - present: Own studio in Canterbury.
1998 - 2000: John Lewis glass studio, Oakland California USA – Studio/Foundry assistant.
1997: David Ruth glass sculpture studio, Oakland California USA – Assistant.
1993 - 1996: BA (Hons) 3D Glass Design, School of Art and Design, University of Wolverhampton.

AWARDS
2006: Pearsons Prize, Overall winner.
2006: Pearsons Prize, Best use of Glass in Interiors.
2005: Bombay Sapphire Prize, shortlisted for excellence and innovation in contemporary glass.
2005: Crafts Council, selected for ‘New Faces’ showcase.
2005: Chelsea Arts Club, Granted Honorary Membership.