Luke Fuller

Ceramicist

Breaking the mould

Luke’s work takes inspiration from British industry and landscape
He is fascinated by making moulds
He has been influenced by his family’s history

Luke Fuller is an emerging ceramic artist, who has already made a name for himself since graduating from the Royal College of Art in 2020. His pieces, often inspired by steel works and coal mining, have a genuine sense of heft and scale, using a mixture of stoneware, porcelain and, occasionally, concrete. They also contain a slight alien quality. The young maker enjoys experimenting with techniques – using moulds made from cardboard that are subsequently burned away and, sometimes, taking an over-sized hammer to his pieces. However, he is aware of the importance of skill and tradition. "Everyone builds upon some kind of traditional process. So I’m building on mould making and using that know-how from the past" he explains. And what does a well made object mean to him? "Something that’s thoughtful, personal and contains material knowledge."

Interview

Do you remember the moment you decided to work in clay?: I don’t think there was a single moment, and even now, I’m not sure I’ll work with clay forever. I’m open to other materials. I really enjoyed metalwork when I studied at the University of Brighton, for instance. My family is from Port Talbot in South Wales, where there are huge steel works, so that interests me.
What do you enjoy about clay?: I like working with my hands. I’ve always enjoyed making stuff and seeing things physically change. Although my mother was a primary school teacher and my dad worked in an office, both my grandfathers had little workshops. A lot of the tools I have in my studio came from them.
Is your craft rooted to a particular place?: I’m interested in industry and landscape. How landscape feeds into industry, how we manipulate landscape to create the infrastructure we have today, and how we perceive what landscape is. It all stems from visiting the steel works – they were so huge and seemed so alien.
Is your work notable for a specific technique?: I’m interested in mould-making. I wanted to create a mould with undercuts but traditionally that’s impossible because it’s difficult to release the mould from the object – the undercut gets in the way. Also I wanted to break the repetitive nature of the mould. My idea was to use cardboard because you can burn it away. Also, you can never use it twice.

Luke Fuller is an expert artisan: he began his career in 2014