PUBLIC ART
2012

Dinner with Neighbours was commissioned by the local credit union, Vancity, as the two-story centerpiece for their prototype branch in South Burnaby.

For this project we used plates acquired from the now defunct Hycroft China Ltd., which have been lying dormant since the factory closed in the late 1980s. It has been a rewarding experience digging them out of piles, dusting them off, and breathing new life into them. Hycroft in its heyday was a prominent Canadian manufacturer of industrial ceramic wares. Now it is a part of Medalta and the Historic Clay District in Medicine Hat, Alberta where it has been restored and preserved as an historic landmark.

Superimposed onto a dishware canvas, we created the image of a long banquet table in mid-meal. The center of the table is an assortment of foods representing the specialty dishes of the many ethnic groups that make up South Burnaby.

We were so into the way that our plates looked as they came out of the kiln, each one different from the last, that we decided to make this limited edition of dishware in the same vein. We called them Shadow Plates and they look great on the table.