This project started with the harvesting and refining of blue clay from my hometown at Vega. The interest in the material grew in tandem with the desire to find existential answers to important questions.
The concept of "calling a spade a spade" is at the heart of the project. It represents the commitment to honesty, even when the truth may be uncomfortable. The spade reflects both the physical work with the raw material and the metaphorical process of self-discovery. Now the spade has been put down as a mark of ending the investigation.
The spade, divided into two elements, represents two oceans linked to an island. The island is illustrated as the raw fired material without glaze, which exists in the borderland between the depth and the surface. The leaf bears a deep texture of blue and green, which can be interpreted as the unexplored
and the deep sea. The shaft, with its luminous turquoise color, gives a sense of optimism and security.
The spade acts as a tool that encourages honesty and self-reflection, while at the same time it can be seen as a release from intense self-examination. to call a Spade a Spade digs deeper down into the underlying layers of our human nature and is a tribute to the material that has inspired this exploration.
Master in fine art graduation show, Bergen Kunsthall
Earthenware (self-collected clay), glaze
112 x 21 cm
Layers of digging
Moodboard/ map of selected work
Photo: KMD Bergen
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