Ewen Daunt
Artist Blacksmithing BA Hons
Hereford College of Arts
Specialisms: Contemporary Craft / Sculpture /
Location: Chester, United Kingdom
Ewen Daunt
First Name: Ewen
Last Name: Daunt
Specialisms: Contemporary Craft / Sculpture
Sectors:
My Location: Chester, United Kingdom
University / College: Hereford College of Arts
Course / Program Title: Artist Blacksmithing BA Hons
About
Starting his journey into the craft at a young age, Ewen began seeking out, visiting and working in a range of forge workshops throughout high school. This was a habit that continued into his college years, where his love for the blacksmith’s craft developed further throughout his education as a technical blacksmith and welder.
These events would culminate in a transformative visit to the workshop of esteemed artist blacksmith Junko Mori, who would introduce to him a life that unlike anything he had seen before, that of the art-smith.
From here he began his studies as an artist blacksmith at Hereford College of Arts, which would go to further cement his love for the marrying of art and metalwork.
Under Lock and Key is a collection of interactive puzzles designed and crafted by Hereford College of Art 2025 Graduate Ewen Daunt. Each of these eight forged puzzles draw upon elements of historical locksmithing and puzzle design inspiring interactivity among its viewers with familiar mechanical forms; all acting to honour the contemplative process of decoding art, such that through meditations in solving the piece the viewer might also meditate on the act of seeking hidden values in art. This question is the beating heart at the centre of this collection and is what all the puzzles are built upon, all seeking to teach the viewer that art, like the puzzle, has value waiting to be discovered through engagement and contemplation. Such that this process might occur, each puzzle is designed with considerations to weight, ergonomics, sonic and visual design. How the weight of each piece feels to hold, how each part clicks, slides and turns, how visuals of dizzying angles mimic the narrow passageways of a labyrinth, each decision is burdened with crucial importance to the realisation of this collection.
Competitions
