LAWRENCE: “The artworks were designed digitally, then hand-carved and printed through a traditional, physical process. This seems counter-intuitive, as digital processes normally follow the physical to improve productivity. This makes me conscious of how new technologies are supposed to reduce demands on our time, but often have the opposite effect. As Marshall McLuhan said: “We shape our tools and then our tools shape us.”

Do my extra efforts add value to the final piece? Is it better because it was difficult to make, or because of the hours that went into crafting it? Is it possible that because the effort was unnecessary, that the work is imbued with a nostalgic or ironic value? Is the labour involved somehow different to what goes into mundane, everyday tasks?”