MATTERFLOW
My creative practice is an exploration of material and transformation, and is focused on ceramic-based processes. I draw on traditional ceramic techniques, such as mould making, slip casting and glaze development, which I use in unconventional ways to create abstract sculptures.
Glaze, rather than clay, is the primary material that shapes the forms. Positioning it on the inside of slip cast spheres, instead of as the outer skin, forces the glaze to break out of its porcelain shell, puffing, or oozing out as it expands in the heat of the kiln. The resulting material interactions create forms that cannot be designed or controlled and therefore my method involves a ‘working with’. The sculptures ‘grow’ through this collaboration between artist, material, and process.
Experimentation forms the basis of my practice, with new materials and ways of working with them being continuously introduced. This can be as simple as adding ash or sand to a glaze to change its colour and texture, or more challengingly, building porcelain and glaze additions onto metal objects to examine the interactions between steel and ceramic. In my practice, I am constantly developing new glazes that in turn bring new colours and surfaces into my work. Developing glazes can take weeks of testing before they are ready to be used. Through this constant flow of experimentation, the work is always shifting, as influences and interests change, new techniques and materials are introduced, so that what’s no longer working can be set aside. My work is formed in the space of change.
My practice draws inspiration from a broad range of sources. From personal experiences, neuroscience, and psychology, to fungus and cinematic body horror. I allow these influences to seep into my practice in subtle ways, gently following my intuition, rather than attempting to make work that is representational. In the same vein, while materials and forms may hold meaning in my own mind, the work remains untitled to hold space for the viewer to project their own thoughts onto it.
instagram.com/matterflow.ceramics