Pit Projects is an evolving site of creative collaborations between artists Anni Hagberg and Michael Gittings.
Hagberg is an Australian-born Finnish visual artist with a particular interest in investigating unpredictable process-driven material encounters through sculpture and installation. Primarily working with non-traditional materials within ceramic and craft processes, Hagberg creates spatially informed works that explore processes of change, material interaction, and notions of time.
Originally from Albury (NSW), Gittings established his sculptural design practice in 2016. Directly inspired by his environment and natural forms, Gittings works intuitively with his materials (primarily metal) to create three-dimensional works navigating the intersections of sculpture and functional design. Gittings has exhibited nationally and had works acquired and commissioned by the National Gallery of Victoria, in addition to being represented in private collections across Australia, the US and Europe.
Applying their shared penchant for hands-on material experimentation across their multidisciplinary capabilities, Hagberg and Gittings collaborate to create strange yet alluring objects that confuse our senses and prompt enquiry.
Pit Projects challenge society’s rampant consumerism and widespread complacency – prompting us to engage with the immediate materials that are right in front of us, instead of searching for the new. For Future Ambition they present a collection of functional objects – a pendant light, table lamp, side table and wall cabinet – created from discarded glass and metal salvaged from illegal tips in Melbourne’s west, along with roadside refuse – including a shattered glass bus shelter. As artists working in ceramic, craft and metal disciplines respectively, Hagberg and Gittings apply their deep material understanding to their found materials, embracing the process of experimentation and discovery. The textured, kiln-formed glass featured in their works is made from glass cast into moulds made from created with wet cardboard litter, while the welded steel is textured by rust and lives of past use.