Based on a traditional Mangbetu vessel I wanted to make something that looked like the kind of ethnic knackery an old school colonialist might have in his drawing room. At first glance it may look like a pot stained with smoke from the African bonfire it was cooked in. The black smudges are actually photographs of parties in the 1970’s and 80’s by celebrated society photographer Richard Young. The head on the top of the pot is a reference to the beautifully coiffed grand dames of those cocktail parties ‘Bubbles’ Rothermere, Rayne Spencer and Barbara Cartland.