Elaine Buss: Fragments Series, 2017-2022
Fragments are partial pieces of information. I place fragments in two different categories: whole and partial. Whole fragments deliver enough evidence to provide insight into their broader context, such as slices of a tree trunk. Some fragments remain homeless and unanchored. They withhold their origins and require more investigation to understand. I consider these partial fragments. A moment, a shadow, and a fragment all reflect the same principle existing in different forms. Each belongs to a larger whole (time, light, physical object) and provides an incomplete image of their source.
In my work, I experiment with interactions between clay objects, plaster colored with metal oxides, and melting raw, powdered ceramics materials that are traditionally used to make glazes. In my material combinations, I achieve haptic qualities that are familiar, yet mysterious and unplaceable. There is an otherness that feels indiscernible. I try to arrive at a sense instead of a certainty. I embrace the nondescript; I am fascinated by the space between knowing and searching.
Photo captions
- Fragments: Whole and Partial (detail), 2019, Wood, Plaster, Earthenware, Frit, Oxides, 50” x 55” x 31”
- Disembedded, 2018, Plaster, Frit, Oxides, 3.75” x 4.25” x 4.25”
- Fragment 7, 2018, Plaster, Frit, Oxides, 2.5” x 5.5” x 5.5”
- Fragmentary Object 4, 2021, Plaster, Frit, Oxides, 3” x 4” x 4”
- Strata Fragment, 2022, Ceramic, Plaster, Frit, Oxides, 4.5” x 5” x 2.5”
- Fragmentary Object 2, 2021, Ceramic, Frit, Oxides, Plaster, Fiberfrax, 2.75” x 4” x 4”
- Channel, 2021, Ceramic, Frit, Plaster, Oxides, Kawool, 3.5” x 8” x 4.5”
- Fragmentary Object 1, 2021, Ceramic, Frit, Oxides, Plaster, 3” x 3.5” x 3.5”
- Strata, 2021, Ceramic, Frit, 9” x 3” x 2”
- Excavate/Reveal, 2018, Ceramic, Plaster, Oxides, Frit, 5″ x 5″ x 3″
- Fragment Pair, 2018, Earthenware, Plaster, Frit, Oxides, 4.5” x 8” x 6”
- Unearth, 2017, Plaster, Oxides, Frit, 4” x 4” x 4”
- Fragments: Whole and Partial, 2019, Wood, Plaster, Earthenware, Frit, Oxides, 50” x 55” x 31”
