Economy of Scale

'Economy of Scale' (detail) Linda Norris 2010 Glass, antique apothecary balance, silk thread, silver beads. The story of Robert Recorde, and his invention of the equals sign 500 years ago, caught my imagination. I wanted to make a piece that embodied the concept of equality, celebrated Recorde's life and made links with Tenby today. The coins were individually cast from Tenby wine bottles in moulds made from impressions of coins from the period when Recorde was Controller of the Bristol Mint. The apothecary balance was bought from Bulgaria on eBay and the dishes were made in my studio kiln. In Recorde's day, a coin's worth was equivalent to the value of the weight of the metal from which it was made, today, incredibly, we still carry coins in our pockets, but they are tokens, divorced from their actual value as objects. The coins in this work are effectively valueless as they are one-sided, made from glass, and cannot be exchanged for goods or services. Recorde, himself was a powerful and wealthy man who died in debtors prison unable to pay a fine levied because of a dispute about money with the Earl of Pembroke. The significance of an artist (literally) making money in this time of recession has not escaped me and I think Recorde might have enjoyed the irony. The title is an homage to Recorde, who employed wordplay in the titling of his own work, and alludes to contemporary concern with the value of currency and the state of our economy. Thanks to Tenby Museum for the inspiration, the Tudor Merchants House, the British Museum for allowing access to their coin collection, & Plantagenet Restaurant, Tenby, for supplying the (empty) wine bottles.