BIZARRE ORANGES & LEMONS ASHTRAY 

Curator: Looking at this ashtray, "BIZARRE ORANGES & LEMONS ASHTRAY" by Clarice Cliff, one immediately notes the bold simplicity of the shapes. It feels… well, daringly decorative, I'd say. Editor: Absolutely, that vibrancy grabs you. It's a bizarre mix of bright color blocking with hard geometric forms and then also its function – a space dedicated for the slow self destruction of cigarettes. There's tension embedded within that juxtaposition. Curator: Consider also how Clarice Cliff, known for her Art Deco style, worked with ceramic as a medium. Think of the firing process, the careful application of each colored glaze, to bring this whimsical design to life as an ashtray, as an everyday, utilitarian object that would find its place on side tables and public bars across 1920’s Britain. Editor: Exactly! The act of smoking itself becomes entangled with notions of leisure and labor within capitalist society, not to mention issues of public health. It almost demands we think about the performativity around gender, with cigarettes becoming synonymous with the “New Woman”. Curator: It brings forward ideas on the commercial market and consumption patterns for decorative arts between the two world wars. The Bizarre line really democratized art, making design accessible, even in something as mundane as an ashtray, while also uplifting female artisans and creating jobs and business opportunities for many local women, in and around Stoke-on-Trent pottery industry, one of the main British center for ceramics production, in Staffodshire. Editor: True, and the abstraction is telling too; reducing fruits to geometric elements almost reflects a similar detachment in social issues. Also there are oranges and lemons of the artwork title, conjuring an image of colonization, import of the raw materials coming from far away regions and cheap labour which made the consumption of these items readily available and profitable for British Empire. The design reflects something deeply unsettling beneath its initial cheer. Curator: I suppose that unsettling feel could indeed come down to the materials meeting manufacturing methods; mass production of this level demands labor be streamlined. And in these streamlined jobs, labor processes may become detached from craft or creativity. Editor: All these issues converge to form a richer story. Suddenly it becomes not just an everyday object but also a cultural artefact, dense with narratives about global history and social hierarchies. Curator: A complex commentary delivered with a strikingly modern and playful sensibility. An insight in and of itself! Editor: Yes, an unexpected convergence, giving us all something new to ponder!