THE PROCESS
I start with soil, sound and the change of textures of matter. I treat it as a continuum of expression that passes through humans, non-human beings and the earth itself. In this regard, this work is an effort to acknowledge that pleasure, rhythm, and beauty are not created by consciousness but rather by the continuous conversation between matter, beings and environment. My sculptures and soundscapes are a way of trying to hear this bigger field of resonance, in which human creativity is just one of many vibrations.
Soil is not mute. It brings with it erosion, compression and renewal frequencies. Whenever I squeeze soil into sculptural shape or draw frequencies into space, I am not merely recording a historical state of affairs, but also letting Being come into existence. The earth utters its erosion and rebirth; the sound is a vibration of an entry into the perception of life. I am listening, bargaining, and letting the material speak for itself at its own time and in its own memory. I want to have a conversation about the co-existence of non-human beings.
My practice oscillates between art as a historic product and material circumstances, and art as truth-telling, embodied experience. In this contradiction, soil as material of labour and soil as ground of Being, it is in this that my work tries to echo.
My work is based on the contradictions of urban life. The city tends to destroy the soil, which is the material needed to make sustainable constructions and life. This paradox exposes ecological vulnerability as well as human alienation with the earth that supports us. My practice is a response to this discontinuity by repositioning soil as material and philosophy, providing a means to reconsider our connection with the earth in the context of continued industrialization and transformation. The title “I wish to be here” is a reflection on dwelling and presence.
The fact that I am living in a city that is commonly referred to as a concrete jungle makes me wonder how we live, breathe and construct in overcrowded man-made surroundings. My practice is based on the necessity to rethink the materials we work with and the relationships we establish with them, and sustainability is at the heart of it. Following the ancient rammed earth method, my practice is based on earth building techniques that not only honour the tradition but also provide new opportunities to practice in a modern context. In sculptural objects created using rammed earth, I employ the material as a metaphor, indicating sustainability, the cyclicality of the earth, and the possibility of balance between humans and the environment. These works do not include representation and hierarchy, leaving the space to the material itself to speak. They are based on minimalism, slow living, and less consumption, and they encourage us to think about ways in which we could live differently.
memory and traces
