“My earliest memory of 'making things' took place on the beach in Cornwall, where I was born,” he explains. “Cornwall is a beautiful county in the extreme southwest of England that is surrounded by incredible beaches, cliffs and coves. Supposedly, my first visit to a beach was when I was just two days old, so I started young! The Cornish beaches were my playgrounds during the summer and the winter. Summer was good because the weather was warm and I could play in the sand free of clothes, but winter was my favorite time of year because the beaches were empty—they became my own. My favorite and most absorbing activity was to build objects using the wet sand itself: tunnels I could almost crawl into, holes I could hide in, boats I could sit in and pretend to sail, or a bench I could sit on with my sister. I was sculpting sand into objects that would take hours to make and then wash away with the tide in minutes. I was just playing, having fun, but more importantly with regard my future, I was using my hands to build objects both from memory and imagination. Little did I know that Porthluny, the same beach on which I spent my childhood, would become my 'workshop' for my Pewter Stool project over two decades later.”
Lamb’s latest exhibition, called the China Granite Project, opens at 20 Hoxton Square in London tomorrow, September 19. I imagine it will be as visually down to earth as his other projects but I would also wager there will be more than enough Max Lamb flair to go around. Good luck with the show, Max!
London is the hot place to be if you’re into design with the varied design festivals opening this weekend. If you want to see the visionary work of architectural botanist Patrick Blanc, visit the Design Commotion blog. To see what nine designers and artists will be doing with fellow-Frenchman Philippe Starck’s Louis Ghost chair, visit Chair Chick. See a photo of Max at work on the beach as a little boy on Adroyt!
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