To some, it’s like a religion: Our contribution to the ‘Process: An Artist’s View of Brewing’ exhibition in Leeds reflects upon our dualistic relationship to alcohol. Working closely with a craft brewery, we often get to reap the rewards of small scale brewing through getting a first hand view (and taste) of the process of making the beer. The almost fanatic interest in beer, shared amongst craft brewers, is highly infectious. On the other hand, alcohol has, throughout the ages, enslaved and driven millions of people into harmful abuse, leading to death, broken marriages, alienation and violence.
By using the chemical formula for ethanol, or drinking alcohol, and turning it on its side, we make it resemble a Christian cross with double horizontal bars. By doing so, we aim to highlight two very different, but perhaps equally absorbing, forms of interest in alcoholic beverages. Borrowing into Christian vocabulary, we wish to show that alcohol can both be the path to salvation and to the grave. Through blurring the motif, we emulate the effect of being under alcoholic influence, urging the viewer to pinch their eyes and concentrate while looking at the work.
The exhibition was curated by the Brewer’s Design Society and held at the Tall Boys Beer Market in Leeds in May, 2015. Other designers featured in the exhibition include Karl Grandin (of Omnipollo) and Keith Shore (of Mikkeller).
