As Black History Month in the UK is coming to a close, I wanted to give another shout out to a Black British person and that is Chris Day.
Chris Day is quite possibly Britain’s only Black glassblower (or “certainly the only one that the artist is aware of”). Growing up in the West Midlands, Day spent more than two decades as a plumber before embarking on a career in glassblowing. He has since created incredible works with glass and mixed media and always has Black history at the forefront of his mind and creations, particularly the plight of Black British and Black American people.
“Like the glass I have pushed my approach in how I work with glass and ceramics in both traditional and experimental methods, to create contemporary artworks that represent my passion for this part of our history. As a black glassblower, I am one of few and on a quest to find and inspire more. My main purpose, however, is to engage the audience on issues that are hard to confront on many levels, using art to help overcome some of the traumas that haunt our collective past”
Day’s work has been displayed at the V&A in London, UK, The National Museum of Scotland, The Chrysler Museum in Virginia, USA, and National Museum Wales to name a few and in 2020, he did an interview with the BBC on how Black Lives Matter has found a place in his work.