Social Substanceo

Starting with William Cobbing’s solo exhibition ‘Social Substance’ at AirSpace Gallery and the British Ceramics Biennial, this book explores his practice and the social materiality of clay, with new texts by Jennifer Lucy Allan, Petra Lange-Berndt, Darren Pih, Francis Ponge’s ‘Unfinished Ode to Mud’ and a conversation with Clare Twomey.

​Cobbing’s sculptures and videos involve a playful interaction between people immersed in mounds of formless clay. Stories are told with the earthy substance through the puckered expression of a glazed ceramic face, or the ASMR sensation of fingers squelching clay on a digital screen. Clay connects people, extending body boundaries and merging them with each other and the landscape. The material is a character in these slapstick encounters, being an equal player rather than a passive subject to the creative process. The slimy mass sticks to the performers’ heads and hands, simultaneously attractive and repulsive, engendering a conflicting set of emotions.

Published 2025

Softback, 384 pages

ISBN 978 0 9561457 9 6

Designed by Fraser Muggeridge Studio