New Exhibition for December 2006  JOHN POLLEX - NEW WORK Plates and Platters made on 'the kind of wheel you don't fall asleep at'. Last year it was Hendrix, this year he has Tom Waits as the musical inspiration for his Christmas show and early sight of the offering for the exhibition points very firmly to one anticipating equal success.
Pollex is fascinated with the dark side of Waits's lyrics, especially the way he expresses things most of us never see, ...''unless of course we're in a smokey late-night dive at around 3am. Goodbody's springs to mind - stange name for a place that's open 24/7.''
The opening of the exhibition has a timely coincidence as the latest release from Waits, the triple album 'Orphans' hits the market. ''A must for all fans of the great T.W.'' says Pollex. |
''Music plays an essential part in the way I work and sets the mood for the colours and shapes that appear,'' says Pollex. ''I was introduced to the songs and music of Tom Waits in 1971 when I was an assistant to my pottery mentor Colin Pearson. It was around that time when Colin and I went to see him live at the Dominion Theatre in London. It was a great evening and one I can still recall today.''
Pollex draws our attention to the importance he sees in the unconventional and off-beat view of life that Waits has. ''During the making of the work for this show,'' he says, ''I listened continuously to his lyrics. I would often jot down a line as I listened.'' However, the final decision for the choices of titles were made following further investigation of an internet site dedicated to all his songs. From this point it was a simple process of seeking the most appropriate image to match words and music, having internalised the Waits ethos during the ceramic process.