Makers’ Marks: A Ceramic Artwork by Matthew Raw for Bristol’s Feeder Canal, installation photographs courtesy of Ginkgo Projects
Synopsis
A new public artwork by ceramic artist Matthew Raw is now permanently installed along Bristol’s Feeder Canal – a 450-metre handrail that captures the creativity and character of the city in clay.
At the heart of the project are hundreds of ‘Maker’s Marks’ – small, distinctive impressions created by people across Bristol during workshops led by Matthew Raw. Each mark, first created in plaster, has been cast into the ceramic tiles that make up the handrail, creating a lasting connection between local communities and the city’s evolving landscape.
Produced by Ginkgo Projects and developed in collaboration with Square Bay and Ryder Architecture, this site-responsive artwork forms part of the new canal-side walkway at Silverthorne Lane in central Bristol. This project was completed in September 2025.
Makers’ Marks Workshops
Participants include students from the Oasis Academy Temple Quarter, whose campus sits alongside the new walkway, as well as local residents who joined drop-in Stamp Making Workshops at ‘In Bristol Studio’. Every mark tells a story, of making, place, and participation, embedded in the fabric of the canal walkway. The finished handrail creates a continuous tactile artwork that invites touch, curiosity, and reflection along the water’s edge.
The final clay tiles were produced at NBK Architectural Terracotta, Germany, where the community-made stamps were pressed into the surface of each piece before firing.
This commission continues Ginkgo Projects’ commitment to shaping meaningful connections between people and the built environment through art.
Further Reading
Matthew Raw works with clay to explore community, language and social history. With a particular focus on ceramic tiles, he often involves social making and attempts to strike a balance between the historical and future. He has shown and installed work across the UK, in the USA and throughout Europe. Raw’s practice exists between galleries, museums, the public realm, interior design, residencies and education establishments.
A founding member of ‘Studio Manifold’ (est. 2010) in East London, his time is split between there and ‘Atelier Ernest’ – his workshop in Paris. Raw is an associate lecturer at The Royal College of Art, and a visiting lecturer at Central St Martins.
Ginkgo Projects is an independent public art and cultural producer, creating opportunities for artists and designers to work closely with clients and communities to build and reveal places that have a sense of narrative, distinctiveness and identity.
