This is it

“ As a sculptor, when I am shaping material, the hand and the eye almost merge into one organ. That is also how I want people to experience my work, as a visual experience that you can feel in your hands ”

In my project Void - Vessel I explored emptiness as a means to create physical objects. Turning the age old process of slip casting on its head he uses the plaster mold as a vehicle to explore this concept. Instead of following the norm and using the mold to copy an existing object, I begin my process with solid blocks of plaster and proceeds to excavate the material to create and shape a void. Through the process of pouring liquid clay into the plaster mold, I translate the negative shape into a positive object and the void has become a vessel.

Inside the mold for this vase I have carved the phrase: "this is it", which comes from a calligraphy written by the Vietnamese Zen teacher Thich Nhat Hanh. This phrase is used to remind oneself that everything is always right here, right now. “This” is always “it”. “This” being whatever is arising at this very moment is always “it”, a manifestation of Reality or Totality or The Whole.

• Year:
• 2023

• Photography:
• Pim Top

• Dimensions:
• 30 x 15 x 45 cm

• Material:
• Ceramics

• Client:
• Direktorenhaus, Berlin

• Photography:
• Pim Top

• Presskit:
• Request access