Gavin Keightley

Blue & Green Stool

Textures generated by casting into moulds made from puffed wheat and bread.

Orange Couscous Cabinet

Jesmonite cast cabinet with six drawers, bespoke pewter cast drawer pulls. Texture generated by casting into a mould made from over 40kg of couscous. Front view, drawer pull detail.

Gavin Keightley is a Designer-Maker with a focus on process led design. His making is centred by a strong need to cultivate manual skills and investigate unexplored and undervalued methods of making. Each project begins with a lengthy experimental phase in which he will explore the boundaries of unconventional materials in conjunction with a series of experimental processes, with no preconceptions of what may flourish from this research. As the materials and processes start to combine and create forms, a body of work begins to emerge, one that celebrates the story of making.  

Terraform is a continuing study into how human intervention has created a fracture within the geological landscape. The objects created within Terraform will straddle the growing divide between what is natural and what is the result of human intervention, taking inspiration from both elements to generate new forms of topography. Replicating, representing and remarking on us as humans, our behaviours, and our planet. 

The intent of anthropogenic effects can be harnessed and applied to making processes, they can be controlled with precision through hands-on manufacturing techniques. In combination with an array of unusual materials, this body of work celebrates a range of under-explored moulding, casting and finishing methods. With a focus on utilising food waste, each piece on display is made using moulds textured by food, with cereals, bread and agar jelly all playing their role in the creation of these objects. 

There is an abundance of food waste, an unfortunate fact but one that provides an opportunity to investigate and propose resolution. Once the label of food is removed and the raw materials are analysed, the true characteristics of any matter can be explored. These edible materials often have useful properties that are unlike any other product available to makers. This body of work aims to highlight these unique properties and capture their character in deep surface textures. 

As a wholly biodegradable material, the food waste used throughout this project is disposed of by composting. The compost generated by this series of work is now being used to help grow a range of fruits and vegetables destined for the dinner table, creating circularity within the project and within the practice. 

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