Etsuko Tashima




The idea of ‘花 / HANA’ has to do with the nature of clay, the surface of which is permeable and easily inscribed before firing ,but becomes affixed and eternal record after firing. One shard can give testament to the period of some thousand years ago. With that in mind, I inscribed the forms of living plants in clay and, by firing the clay, created proof of their existence in the remaining traces.

To make ceramics, you touch the clay directly with your hands and exclude air with your palms. When fired, the clay turns into a different substance, the shape of which will not change, even if re-heated. That is the character of this material. We get a tactile sense just by looking at it, and we feel a sense of warmth, like touching human skin. Glass is closely related to ceramics but in my mind has a totally opposite quality as a material. It can only be created with tools, not by direct touch, because it is shaped through the application of heat. There is no end to the fascination of watching glass, sometimes transparent, sometimes liquid, transform.

The relationship to the viewer changes depending on where and how the works are placed. The viewer, though, encounters and becomes one with the space where the work is exhibited.

My works are a testimony to my own life. I feel that I am motivated by the age we live in, that I am moving with the times.

Info

Name
Etsuko Tashima

Activity
ARTISTA

Country, region
JAPÓN

Biography
ŷBioraphył