Curatorial Statement
Ben Carter employs a heavily grogged clay from the province of Yixing, usually reserved for making big pots. He sieves the clay, making it easier to manipulate at an intimate scale, while retaining the rich color and history of Yixing renown. Teapots are almost synonymous with this clay body and Carter builds on, not only the Yixing tradition, but also on the tradition of tea. He cross-pollinates sets and forms from across the globe. “In Full Bloom” presents us with tea pots, cups and saucers for English black tea; smaller teapots and Yunomis for Chinese green tea; pitchers and tumblers for sweet southern tea; mugs for the convenient cuppa on the go.
“If you feel a bit under the weather,
If you feel a little bit peeved,
Take granny’s stand-by potion
For any old cough or wheeze.
It’s a cure for hepatitis it’s a cure for chronic insomnia,
It’s a cure for tonsilitis and for water on the knee.
“Have a cuppa tea, have a cuppa tea,
have a cuppa tea, have a cuppa tea,
Halleluja, halleluja, halleluja, Rosie Lea
Halleluja, halleluja, halleluja Rosie Lea.
“Tea in the morning, tea in the evening, tea at supper time,
You get tea when it’s raining, tea when it’s snowing.
Tea when the weather’s fine,
You get tea as a mid-day stimulant
You get tea with your afternoon tea
For any old ailment or disease
For Christ sake have a cuppa tea.
“Whatever the situation whatever the race or creed,
Tea knows no segregation, no class nor pedigree
It knows no motivations, no sect or organisation,
It knows no one religion,
Nor political belief.
“Have a cuppa tea, have a cuppa tea,
have a cuppa tea, have a cuppa tea,
Halleluja, halleluja, halleluja, Rosie Lea
Halleluja, halleluja, halleluja Rosie Lea. ”
–The Kinks, 1972, “Have a Cuppa Tea”