Whole life Cost - Guy Martin

May 12th - July 1st 2007

Walford Mill Crafts is hosting a touring solo exhibition, 'Whole Life Cost',
featuring contemporary work by influential furniture maker Guy Martin.

Currently at the top of his field Guy Martin has spent a lifetime working with sculpture, furniture and engineering. He was a former Design Tutor at the influential Parnham College directed by
John Makepeace, and was shortlisted for the Jerwood Prize in 1999. Informed by a philosophy
of individuality, spirituality and environmental sensitivity he creates furniture and buildings
that exist happily as both cultural artefacts and necessary adjuncts to daily life.

The exhibition 'Whole Life Cost - Guy Martin', will present an opportunity to survey Guy Martin's current ranges of work and to look in particular at work that is made within an architectural context, through innovative new concepts for modular buildings and commissioned collaborations with two
and three dimensional designer makers. The commissions will be work with Yuli Sömme, Buffy Forgham, Jane Price and Debby Mason. These artists were selected by Guy Martin for their empathy with ideas of sustainable design and all work with the South West region, the intimacy of being geographically related being an important element of Martin's practice.

These issues of sustainability, ethical production and a sense of locality are immensely important in the work and can be summed up by borrowing a term from the construction industry, "whole life costing". This phrase relates to a calculation of not only the one off cost of the building, but also an assessment of running costs in the future. The exhibition will therefore look at the whole life costing of the work, taking into account social and cultural value as well as economic.

During this unique exhibition, Guy Martin will be giving a talk at Walford Mill Crafts on Saturday, 26th May. In his illustrated talk "Spirit, Nature, Design" Guy Martin will be examining the ethical responsibility as well as the spiritual connectedness of being a designer in today's world. The talk is free and will take place from 2.30pm until 4pm. There is limited availability so please book early to avoid disappointment.

The 'Whole Life Cost - Guy Martin' exhibition is initiated by Devon Guild of Craftsmen and will be on show in the Philip Goulden Gallery at Walford Mill Crafts from May 12th until July 1st.