“Time marched on. Succession was on the horizon. Tim and I are working together towards a degree of continuity in ethos and in our approach to our making practice.” - Peter Layton

At its heart, glassmaking is a collaborative art form. This exhibition, Confluence, our joint exhibition, signified a coming together - a merging, mingling and blending of ideas - a meeting of minds. If that sounds pretentious, that was never our intention. We simply wanted to illustrate a synergistic process, a way of working alongside one another where each of us contributes to the other’s creative journey.

Reverb by Tim Rawlinson

This exhibition explored a number of common strands of new and archival pieces that show how our sources of inspiration, concepts and making, overlap on occasion, demonstrating our mutual interests and how we influence one another. Ways in which we might do this could be a ‘critical’ prompt, hinting at some possible development, a constructive comment, a grin or a grimace.

Since we were both extremely interested in creating visual texture, and exploring colour and surface treatments - seeking to create flowing movement and optical depth - we often found ourselves independently researching similar ideas or forms.  

Tim drew inspiration from Anthony McCall's Solid Light exhibition at Tate Modern, creating optical sculptures in solid glass forms that are kinetic in nature - where the interior flows and reverberates within the glass, never remaining static in the viewer’s perception.

 Rock by Peter Layton

Echoes of Light by Tim Rawlinson

"My works for Confluence explore the optical possibilities of textured surfaces, creating illusions that transform how light interacts with glass. Some techniques I adapted from Peter's earlier works, particularly his Medusa series with its embedded coloured elements, were reinterpreted through my interest in perception and visual movement. The wave-like textures serve both as an homage to Peter's fluid aesthetic, and as my own exploration of optical boundaries, especially in my black and white pieces influenced by Bridget Riley's pop art." - Tim Rawlinson