COCOONS​

COCOON, a vulnerable package in transition to a new existence

These closed forms are thin and fragile and therefore imply vulnerability. The wrapped works  resemble mummies or cocoons. The theme of containment is further investigated through the creation of assemblages of the elemental forms in a gauzy bag. The sacks are hung with the elements forcing themselves against the fabric skin, suggesting trying to escape.

Closed forms have always played an important role in my ceramic design. A closed form such as a box has an aura of something intriguing, something fascinating, something mysterious.  Such a container can be a protection for a precious object or a wrapping for a valuable present.

Clay is in itself a symbol of transformation. Clay is the result of millions of years of rock erosion. Through the hands of an artist or a crafts person it is shaped into a new form. The fire  converts it  into a new substance:  rock-hard ceramic. Therefore I deliberately chose to make these cocoons from paper porcelain to emphasize the concept of vulnerability and transformation.

Cocoons and mummies have a loaded symbolic and metaphysical meaning. According to Jung and his contemporary followers,  all artistic creations contain forms and images which have symbolic meanings, which are archetypal, and in this way communicable to others.  The mummy as well as the cocoon, symbolises an intermediate stage: both are a metaphor for an emerging new life. Making cocoons in porcelain is a metaphor for a new practice.