Photos : @Bennet Perez et @Robert Wedermeyer

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Can you tell us about your artistic approach for this series entitled 'Basin theology' ? How did this ceramic series come about ?

Throughout my years of maintaining a ceramics studio I have contemplated the dilemma of what to do with all of my failed attempts. I would say one out of every three ceramics sculptures explode in the kiln, so the reality is I am often left with countless amounts of ripped, cracked, or shattered pieces.

The 'Basin Theology' series began with making new, large vessels that could be filled with those earlier failures

Instead of discarding this shrapnel, I've kept and cataloged these elements. The 'Basin Theology' series began with making new, large vessels that could be filled with those earlier failures — a vehicle to reuse those pieces. Once assembled, I fuse everything together through repeated glazing and kiln firings. The timing and duration of firing for each sculpture varies, but most take more than a month to complete.

Why did you choose this religious terminology in your title ?

There are many things that I see in these works — archeological sites or even graves — but I am also interested in how the vessel as a form has so many associations. As a utilitarian object it is inextricably linked to ceramics, but it is also ideologically religious. I like this devotional aspect and its role in ritualistic practice. The basins become offerings in a way ; they allow me to show the setbacks, the disappointments.

There is the reference to the vessel as used in mandatum (...) In the context of the Mass of the Lord's Supper, where Jesus washes the feet of his twelve apostles, it symbolizes humility.

The kiln firing itself is also a ritual : the work goes into the oven and gets heated to great temperatures, rising to the point of hardening soft clay to bone - like bisque, or melting the glass glaze and bringing forth bright colors that were unimaginable before the firing. Of course, you never really get to see any of this, so it’s almost an alchemic event. Then there is the reference to the vessel as used in mandatum, the ritual washing of feet, or ablution, the washing of part or all of the body or even possessions, like ceremonial objects, with the intent of purification or dedication.  In the context of the Mass of the Lord's Supper, where Jesus washes the feet of his twelve apostles, it symbolizes humility.

The art that I love and find the most influential tends to be timeless. 

My basin sculptures also serve as altars, continuing a tradition rooted in the narrative of Jesus' death and resurrection. This tradition culminates in the Stripping of the Altar during the Holy Week service, which still resonates today.

Your piece will be displayed among paintings of the Diocese of Paris from the 15th to the 20th century. With this exhibition at the heart of heritage art, in a 13th-century nave, one might think that you are exhibiting 'outside your borders'…

I try to avoid ideas that could limit where my art falls historically. The art that I love and find the most influential tends to be timeless. Things cycle as well, art that was made 1000 years ago, 300 years ago, 100 years ago, 50 years ago all have things in common. It’s not unlikely and almost a relief to know that artists in the pastwere making their work under similarly challenging conditions. That they too struggled and clasped tightly to their practices as a means of expression during oppressive and unfortunate times.

I like to see my art in comparison, within the context of a larger scale of time, and hopefully to feel the genealogy that it represents.