Skyline, 2018, Efrat Eyal

What

Slip cast; hand built, glazing

Who

Efrat Eyal, b. 1967

Why

“My work underscores the potential shattering and destruction of the ceramic material, as well as the possibility of repair, growth and reconstruction. A new work arises on the ruins of an earlier one, like the natural and cultural processes occurring around us. These include, for instance, the transformation and distortion of both natural and urban landscapes due to the unsupervised exploitation of natural resources and the production of waste.

This work is composed of readymade objects cast in a mold, together with fragments and leftovers in different states of material processing. The different parts are combined using various processes suggested by the ceramic material, while disregarding the traditional work process.

Traditionally, the hierarchy of the different stages in the process is clear, moving from the wet ceramic material to the dry material, the first firing, the glazing, and sometimes printing. The firing process may be likened to a form of death, of irreversible fixation. Ruptures are viewed as something to be avoided, and if they occur, the whole process has to begin anew, to be reconstructed and put back on track.

For me, the field of craft involves the human element, that of growth, development and repair. Not in the sense of restoration, but rather in the biological, evolutionary sense of regeneration – new growth on the basis of what already exists.”

Where

On display at the Migdal Gallery, Tel Aviv Biennale of Crafts & Design, MUZA – Eretz Israel Museum, Tel Aviv.