At first glance, my work is about people. In paintings and sculptures. I abstract and want to tell a universal story about “Luggage”. Migration is an overarching theme in this. When we “zoom out” on human existence, we see that (unfortunately) people again and again flee, emigrate or leave a dear place. Histories that repeat themselves. In a small context, but also large and far-reaching… I am becoming more and more engrossed in this: Due to current events, my family background and a recent commission for a memorial monument. Due to wars and the dramatic consequences of the climate crisis, more and more refugees will migrate across the world ( l’histoire se répète).
Method: In coarse Chamotte clay I make in intuitive forms in which I tell the story about the person and his/her’s luggage. What people collect, pack, carry with them (sometimes heavy, sometimes light) and leave behind. I depict the journey in an almost abstract object in which man, environment, form and emptiness are a complex whole. I work very directly with knives, coarse spatulas and work through in 1 session so that a whole is created. Then follows a drying time that is also reflection: can the object continue to the next phase: further into the ceramic process? Due to the very high kiln temperatures, the clay becomes deeper black and more concentrated. I leave the objects unglazed and raw after firing.
