glaring tales
Wood, Stoneware glazed with local ashes, Rope
2024
After a fire, ashes nourish the soil, holding purifying and transformative qualities that symbolize the transience and constant renewal in the planetary stream of life. However, the rhythm of renewal has been accelerated by the hungry flames of neo-liberal capitalism, leaving the balance of existence uncertain in the aftermath.
The elemental remains left after the burning of organic matter condense into ashes, bearing traces of their origin from the soil and the parent rock on which the trees have grown. The locality and unique composition of the earth influence the mineral composition of a tree. These symbiotic bio-geo connections can be revealed in the transformation of ashes at high temperatures, showing the material codes of their existence.
glaring tales emerges around the transformative power of fire, revealing hidden components and their unpredictable qualities stored in the biosphere. The ashes of local wood burned in residential houses of Ii are used to glaze ceramic objects. The atmosphere in the ceramic kiln reveals hidden elemental information and the characteristic of the mineral remains in biological matter, alluding to the uncertainties of the days after the fire and the ecological uncertainty in the future.
Placed on burned wooden chairs which outline architectural structures in ruins, the roots symbolize the connection to the grounds, ancient knowledge and the invisible thereby juxtapose to the sky-scraping anthropocentric ambition to govern and control earth.
Minerals sustain vital parts of life and undergo constant exchange and alteration through different bodies in nature. This circulation of energies and the dependencies within ecological assemblages are essential in this installation. Local actors, like the firewood or the residents of Ii, play a significant role in the developing process and outcome of this work. Their stories are entwined and are part of this collaboration, continuously extended with the tales from around this this very place.
Fire Unbound
Art Ii Biennial
Ii, Finnland
curated by Riikka Tauriainen and Antti J. Leinonen
