Texts
Different forms of text reading and writing practices are part of my way of encountering a topic, transforming ideas into ceramic expressions.
Literary or poetic descriptions serve as inspirators for a story, atmosphere or concrete working method in the development of new forms and concepts.
Theoretical perspectives guide me into a theme and help me understand a part or a context of the world I seek to comment on.
Here follows a collection of my own writings around projects presented in the gallery.
Artist Statement: "Wholly separated from chaos", 2018
Through the direct and unmediated contact with clay, which I experience through hand building, I feel a connection to the earliest stages of human evolution. Prehistoric ceramics are my inspiration and as such my work is a reflection of our common human history, with the clay figure being a witness of human beings’ attempts to give meaning to the unexplainable in the world. Interpreting the mystics of these ancient cultural artefacts, I develop objects that are figurative but at the same time obscured by the proportions or a certain detail that makes them more abstract. Repetition of form elements and symmetry of the pieces make them appear like symbols or signs for humans. They are representing the mysterious bond between human and nature, expressed through the working of and giving form to a material. Ritual objects that may be subjected to the wishes and hopes of the viewer. By relating to a specific place, I aim to create a sensuous space where the tactile quality and plastic possibilities of clay are activated for the purpose of telling a story. In this manner I seek to evoke curiosity and create a moment of surprise. I want the connection between human, history and nature to be felt in the perception of my figures.
Description of project: “Wholly separated from chaos”, 2018
“Wholly separated from chaos” is a project originating in a travel to Mexico. Pre-Columbian ceramic figures are interpreted from a contemporary perspective focusing on the abstraction of human form. The figures are developed with the intention to be installed in a cave in Helligdomsklipperne (Sanctuary Cliffs) on Bornholm. This is how the folktales of Bornholm about “de underjordiske” meet the mystics of indigenous Mexican culture.
Thought as a site-specific work, the cave becomes a shield concealing the unknown. Traces are leading into the darkness where the treasure, the relics of forgotten times, are waiting to be discovered. The gold, outlining the holes in the figures, reflects the light where light is scarce and puts attention to the openings to the inner space. As such the holes are an invitation to wonder. This is where all creation happens – in darkness.
Somehow there is a tension between peace and unrest. In the cave you may find the atmosphere for contemplation and get a religious experience of something holy, or get a rather uncanny, gloomy sensation caused by the absurdity of the pieces.
Like the rocks, consisting of minerals, the figures are minerals recomposed and shaped by human intervention. Nature transformed into art. Like Henri Focillon would say, they have become: “wholly separated from chaos”.