Encounter
Casting Memories explores what can happen when people or strangers are given the time and permission to meet. The project transforms ceramics from objects to tools for interaction. The ritual creates an intimate environment where visitors are invited to slow down and collectively share an experience with others. Through gestures of pouring, drinking, listening, and speaking, it invokes a moment of connection between people who may otherwise never meet.
Material
At the center of the work is a three-tiered ceramic vessel made from wild clay that I harvest myself in Groningen. The vessel represents the past, present, and future, while its layered structure echos the formation of clay itself. The process of gathering, filtering, and slip casting becomes part of the work's meaning. The plaster mold temporarily freezes the material into a form, while the clay carries traces of landscape from which it came from. In this way, the material becomes a reflection of human experience. We too are shaped by places, pressures, memories, and encounters that accumulate over time.
The Ritual
Visitors encounter the vessel through a guided sensory ritual involving beverages, conversation, and reflection. Rather than watching a performance, participants become part of it. Each person contributes their presence and memories, allowing the work to change with every encounter. Casting Memories brings together geological time, material, transformation, and the human experience. It asks the question about how objects and rituals can create moments of belonging.
