{"meta":{"version":"2.1","_links":{"self":{"href":"https://api.vam.ac.uk/v2/object/O1713786"},"collection_page":{"href":"https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1713786/"}},"images":{"_primary_thumbnail":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2024NT5831/full/!100,100/0/default.jpg","_iiif_image":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2024NT5831/","_alt_iiif_image":[],"imageResolution":"high","_images_meta":[{"assetRef":"2024NT5831","copyright":"© Victoria & Albert Museum","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2024NT5832","copyright":"© Victoria & Albert Museum","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2024NT5833","copyright":"© Victoria & Albert Museum","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2024NT5834","copyright":"© Victoria & Albert Museum","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2024NT5835","copyright":"© Victoria & Albert Museum","sensitiveImage":false}]},"see_also":{"_iiif_pres":"https://iiif.vam.ac.uk/collections/O1713786/manifest.json","_alt_iiif_pres":[]}},"record":{"systemNumber":"O1713786","accessionNumber":"C.2-2022","objectType":"Number tile","titles":[],"summaryDescription":"Ron Hitchins was an abstract sculptor, ceramicist, one-time tailor and accomplished flamenco dancer who was born in Poplar in 1926 to a Chinese father and Lithuanian mother. He experienced a turbulent childhood in the care system which, he reflected later, built a certain resilience of character and perseverance to learn new skills, traits he maintained throughout the rest of his life.  Ron’s story is also deeply embedded in east London and the lived  experiences of working class and immigrant communities seeking to forge creative careers outside of the mainstream or elite artistic circles.\n\nFrom the age of 14 he was an apprentice engineer and toolmaker in London and developed the skills that would shape and inform his later sculptural and design practice. During the second World War, he volunteered for national service and worked for two years in the coal mines of Sheffield and Nottinghamshire. After the War he returned to Hackney and became a well-known local  figure and was cherished for his exuberant personality and distinctive style, acquiring  the nickname 'Flash' . He began making clothing for his wife, Betty Annie Becket, and sold his own designs for shirts and flares from his Dalston market stall called the 'Waste'.\n\r\nRon developed an interest in Flamenco and installed two studios in his house: one for his visual artwork, the other for flamenco study and teaching. In the mid-1960s he began working with clay and began by creating small, moulded ceramic decorative objects. He liked to experiment with different materials and  also made sculptural works from metal, fibreglass, wood and found materials. He undertook an evening class at the Sir John Cass College of Art to broaden his knowledge of making moulds and at the age of 40 had his first solo show at the Whibley Gallery,  London.\n\r\nRon also designed and made furniture for his own use and, gradually, his semi-detached Victorian home on Malvern Road in Hackney became a ‘total’ artwork, featuring sculptural reliefs and decorative tile panels in his living room, kitchen and bathroom. Ron died peacefully in 2019 aged 93.\r\n","physicalDescription":"","artistMakerPerson":[{"name":{"text":"Hitchins, Ron","id":"AUTH378592"},"association":{"text":"artist","id":"AAT25103"},"note":""}],"artistMakerOrganisations":[],"artistMakerPeople":[],"materials":[],"techniques":[],"materialsAndTechniques":"","categories":[{"text":"Tiles","id":"THES48884"},{"text":"Interiors","id":"THES48933"},{"text":"Product design","id":"THES49025"},{"text":"Furniture","id":"THES48948"}],"styles":[],"collectionCode":{"text":"CER","id":"THES48594"},"images":["2024NT5831","2024NT5832","2024NT5833","2024NT5834","2024NT5835"],"imageResolution":"high","galleryLocations":[{"current":{"text":"CA005","id":"THES413410"},"free":"","case":"","shelf":"","box":""}],"partTypes":[[{"text":"Number tile","id":""}]],"contentWarnings":[{"apprise":"No","note":""}],"placesOfOrigin":[{"place":{"text":"London","id":"x28980"},"association":{"text":"","id":""},"note":""}],"productionDates":[{"date":{"text":"20th Century","earliest":"1900-01-01","latest":"1999-12-31"},"association":{"text":"","id":""},"note":""}],"associatedObjects":[],"creditLine":"Given by an anonymous donor","dimensions":[{"dimension":"Height","value":"25","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":"Each"}],"dimensionsNote":"","marksAndInscriptions":[],"objectHistory":"","historicalContext":"","briefDescription":"One of three ceramic tile numbers, number '0'. Ron Hitchins, London, UK, 20th Century","bibliographicReferences":[],"production":"","productionType":{"text":"","id":""},"contentDescription":"","contentPlaces":[],"associatedPlaces":[],"contentPerson":[],"associatedPerson":[],"contentOrganisations":[],"associatedOrganisations":[],"contentPeople":[],"associatedPeople":[],"contentEvents":[],"associatedEvents":[],"contentOthers":[],"contentConcepts":[],"contentLiteraryRefs":[],"galleryLabels":[],"partNumbers":["C.2-2022"],"accessionNumberNum":"2","accessionNumberPrefix":"C","accessionYear":2022,"otherNumbers":[],"copyNumber":"","aspects":["WHOLE"],"assets":["2023NL2731"],"recordModificationDate":"2025-04-19","recordCreationDate":"2022-03-17","availableToBook":false}}