14 May 2011 – 27 August 2011
Clare Knox-Bentham is fascinated with the Mexican tradition of celebrating the dead. Each large-scale plastic drawing she creates celebrates someones life, as is done during the El Da de los Muertos or Day of the Dead festival.

The new installation at Manchester Craft and Design Centre is full of these drawings, with each individual drawing linking together, completing stories and developing tales.

Clare uses the industrial process of heat-extruding liquid Ethylene-Vinyl Acetate to hand draw her works. The large glue-gun like extrusion tool heats EVA plastic to a very high temperature and allows it to flow through a nozzle, which she can then control and draw with. The method forces the artist to draw with a continual line, creating the unique style of the work.

The technique of plastic doodling, as Clare calls her technique, was developed during her BA in Three Dimensional Design at Manchester Metropolitan University. Clare was awarded the Manchester Craft & Design Centres 5th Graduate Solo Exhibition prize in 2010.

“Do not sleepwalk through the journey of life as birth, school, work then death. Take the time to enjoy things of beauty around you.”
Clare Knox-Bentham.