Klasse Nicole Wermers  |  Raum A.U1.11, Altbau  |  https://ayakaterajima.myportfolio.com

 

The group of unglazed but over-decorated ceramic vessels in my diploma presentation are made from recycled clay. The pieces are the result of a technique I developed over the last 3 years which is inspired by the richly decorated pottery from the Japanese Jōmon period (14000-1000 BCE). The ancient clay pots are characterized by distinctive relief patterns in the shape of ropes and other readily available surfaces of the age such as shells and plants. For the reliefs applied to my own works I use patterns and the negative spaces of the thin unbranded plastic containers found inside cardboard packaging of everyday products, such as cakes, soaps or batteries. Born from the logistic philosophy of ordering time and space the design of these humble support structures follow purely economic principles of achieving maximum efficiency with a minimum of material and weight. Jōmon pottery are said to be the oldest ceramic vessels in Japan. The extensively used rope and string-like ornaments are depicting snakes, universal symbols of rebirth. In those days when there was no science or ideology of economy or reason, death was the most important theme and besides the snake, the moon was the absolute symbol of material regeneration. This narrative of spiritual rebirth and material regeneration I am considering through the contemporary lens of logistics, consumption and recycling.