WORDS Jonna Dagliden Hunt PHOTOGRAPHY Erik Whålström
At first glance, it’s not clear exactly who was the creator of the impressive Alphabet Aerobics E-16 artwork at the Nationalmuseum in Stockholm. Reminiscent of an antique relief, the white earthenware sculpture was made using ‘The Extruder’, a large-scale clay press generating three tonnes of pressure. The machine squeezes out clay through different moulds shaped like letters of the alphabet (this particular work was created by the ‘E’ mould). On the text panel by the work it states that computer programmer Jakob Öhrman collaborated on creating the machine with the artist, Anton Alvarez. So who is the real creator of the artwork here – the person who presses the button on the machine, or the person who creates the machinery that produces the art?
“They had the keys to my studio and kept developing the machine on a purely technical level when I was gone,” says Alvarez. “When I got back, the sculpture stood there on the shelf.”
Currently lined up on the shelves of Alvarez’s studio are a host of ceramic sculptures in various shapes and colours – black, blue, yellow, green and white – with pieces appearing beautifully haphazard. In some cases it looks as if the clay has simply spilled out and solidified.
Even in the early days of his art practice, Alvarez always had the intention of removing himself from the physical process. It started with a thread-wrapping machine that freed him from winding the thread around objects in wood and plastic. In 2016, he exhibited his Extruder machine at the National Centre for Craft and Design in Sleaford in the UK, where he let the museum staff become co-creators of the art on display. During the four-month long exhibition, they were able to “produce” pieces themselves – a brilliant example of Alvarez’s ability to question the role of the artist.
“It was mainly due to practical reasons,” he says. “I wanted to have pieces produced during the exhibition when I wasn’t there so I made a machine that the staff were able to use. You simply pressed a button and refilled the clay. During the exhibition
