After the Fall 2020

kanthel wire, porcelain paperclay,
porcelain slip, angob,glaze, graphite powder, thorn,
Japanese lacquer
H67.5xW23xD17.5cm
This work drives from an ethical position towards the harm caused by war to nature and man.
It is based on images of residential buildings around my hometown, which suffered from missiles hits during and in between wars, and a thorn found in the fields burned as a result of an attack.
the work follows Derrida‏`s claim (Archive Fever: A Freudian Impression), that an archival action is also a violent act of erasure, because it obviates the need to remember, and therefore its existence contains an answer, a promise and a responsibility for tomorrow.

Collapse 2020

kanthel wire, porcelain paperclay,
porcelain slip, glaze
H27-62xW29-49xD32-56cm
this work is an abstract expressions of the hidden aesthetics and poetics of ruins.
It is based on studies of the ways buildings collapse as a result of a bomb strike.
The work process involved actions of construction and destruction, when a complete sculptural-geometrical construction was built – and immediately afterwards I caused it to collapse into itself at once.
the work also functions as an interactive flower vase that supports and integrates ikebana and as such, offers some consolation.

Trails 2020

kanthel wire, porcelain paperclay,
porcelain slip, glaze
H23-60xW43-115xD45-72cm
This work speaks about the choices we make and the endless paths we might walk through our lifetime, which can have no effect or may lead us to a whole different life.
It also functions as an interactive ikebana vase that supports and integrates flower arrangement in an innovative way, inspired by my interest in contemporary ikebana.

Note: The text above was written by the Artist. No modification was made by COCA.

Danit Melman Shaked

Israel

https://danitmelman.wixsite.com/ceramicart

My work is influenced both by the quietness within me, connected deeply to nature, and by the violence surrounds me, living in an area of constant conflict and an underlying threat of death.
For me, creating is a way to arrange my mind, my environment, a way to create order out of chaos, examine the space between the inner and outer world.

Coming from sculpture, my interpretation to ceramic focuses on form before function, by the paths material itself leads me in the evolution of each work; the unknown is where I want to reach

Fascinated by the width of materials and techniques the ceramic medium has to offer, I keep exploring this endless field of possibilities and push its limits through extensive experimentation, including those that challenge the very idea of this medium as still and rigid

The works has a larger artistic context within my ARCHIVE PROJECT – that deals with aspects of loss and memory, and the inherited paradox of destruction and creation.