Pascale Girardin: Le Geste exhibition, 2018
The exhibition, entitled Le Geste, draws its inspiration from the study of movement, the ceramic studio, the artifacts produced and their context of representation. Through this project, I explore the close relationship that exists between the body of the ceramist and that of clay, and I consider how repetition and recursivity – inherent to ceramic production – contribute to the emergence of a new language and to further understanding of the creative act as it relates to contemporary craft.
Epilogue is an installation that consists of unfired ceramic prototypes, discards and finished works that were produced either during the filming of the video Avec soin or during my day-to-day practice as a ceramic artist. These elements are scattered on a bed of bisqued ceramic tiles – which I normally use as bases for wheel throwing or as drying surfaces for small unfinished pieces. Their surfaces reveal traces of encrusted clay stemming from activities such as trimming or throwing, as well as marks from my potter’s knife. Their arrangement on the ground seems to evoke an archaeological site where one can almost imagine that a series of rituals could have taken place. These dispersed objects act as artefacts that underline the processual, experiential and material character of ceramics.
Procédé is a short film which explores the intimate relationship between the ceramicist’s body and that of clay in order to consider how the acts of repetition and recursiveness, specific to ceramic practice, contribute to the development of our knowledge of the creative cat. Procédé offers a complex and open-ended interpretation of the ties that connect artist and material, to reveal a state of being rather than an end in itself.
The video Avec Soin [06:42] juxtaposes sounds and images of microevents specific to the ceramic practice with a wheel throwing session using art handlers’ gloves. The project began as an exploration of the audio and visual environment within my studio. Guided by my curiosity, I chose to set aside some of my habits to record various phenomena derived from ceramic activity, such as the dissolution of dry clay in water; the sounds generated by the potter’s wheel, or the crackling produced by my work table when wedging clay. This research led me to reconsider the notions of accomplishment and recognition, giving rise to the following questions: when does creative activity become a finished work of art? For the ceramicist, is it during the process of kneading clay, or at the end of the firing process? Within this mindset, the idea came to me to throw clay bowls on the potters’ wheel using art handling gloves. For this exploration, I called on the expertise of my son Wolfe Girardin Jodoin, a videomaker and multidisciplinary artist. Taken from a poietic perspective, our collaboration allowed us to experience what was before us: whether it involved a particular still image or an accidental recording. In such a manner, this endeavours’ meaning has evolved throughout the various stages of recording, editing and final viewing. With regard to the production, my willingness to “do less” and to embrace the silence that resides between the sounds and the images is in keeping with my approach to clay.The exhibition, entitled Prologue, draws its inspiration from the study of movement, the ceramic studio, the artifacts produced and their context of representation. Through this project, I explore the close relationship that exists between the body of the ceramist and that of clay, and I consider how repetition and recursivity – inherent to ceramic production – contribute to the emergence of a new language and to further understanding of the creative act as it relates to contemporary craft.
Captions
- Le Geste Exhibition, 2018, photo credits: Stephany Hildebrand
- Le Geste Exhibition, 2018, photo credits: Stephany Hildebrand
- Rupture, 2018, Partially glazed stoneware, dimensions: 25 cm H X 20 cm DIA, photo credits: Stephany Hildebrand
- Bache, 2018, Cotton, dimensions: 120 cm H X 240 cm W, photo credits: Stephany Hildebrand
- Untilted, 2018, Glazed stoneware, dimensions of installation: 45 cm H X 200 cm L X 22 cm D, photo credits: Stephany Hildebrand
- Procede No.4, Procede No.1, Procede No.5, Procede No.3, 2018, Digital prints on Arches paper, dimensions of installation: 115 cm H X 85 cm W (each print), photo credits: Stephany Hildebrand
- Detail from Epilogue, 2018, Mix materials, dimensions of installation: 300 cm L X 100 cm W, photo credits: Stephany Hildebrand
- Avec soins during Le Geste Exhibition, 2018, Vidéo [6: 42]. Photo credits: Stephany Hildebrand
- Totem, 2018, Plaster batts, dimensions: 100 cm H X 30 cm DIA, photo credits: Stephany Hildebrand
- Untilted, 2018, Engobe wash on stoneware, dimensions of installation: 32 cm H X 23 cm W, photo credits: Stephany Hildebrand
- Detail from Epilogue, 2018, Mixed materials, dimensions of installation: 300 cm L X 100 cm W, photo credits: Stephany Hildebrand
- Detail from Epilogue, 2018, Mixed materials, dimensions of installation: 300 cm L X 100 cm W, photo credits: Stephany Hildebrand
- Epilogue, 2018, Mix materials, dimensions of installation: 300 cm L X 100 cm W, photo credits: Stephany Hildebrand
