Ever changing, slowly, they have been nesting, resting, ingesting – they worship time.
Ripped from the depths of the unseen, from the soft belly of the earth, these wounded and wounding bodies, carcasses of clay and metal, conceal and birth new ways of life. Now a site of evidence, this exhibition gathers them as a collection of infinite vessels, progeny of time, grog, ash, sand, dirt, water, and fire.
They have been interrupted in their slow growth, in their whispering growl; have they mutated for the sake of survival after years of human intervention, or have they found alternate ways to capture and document time? Are they eternal and never changing or infinitely evolving?
Agent of material subversion, Sara Mericle explores natural cycles, non-human record keeping, and human extraction in the role of the artist, the ceramist, the world builder of this fantastical ecosystem. Her ceramics, mimicry or crossover of geological actors, vessel-like organisms, and humanmade matter, may trick the eye. They live at the intersection of environmental research and artistic birthing as mutation of sea creatures, fishing tools, natural furniture, worship devices, human body parts, and containers of all kinds. Mericle’s ceramic practice considers the delicate balance between creation and destruction, preservation and exploitation, the echoes of the past and the reverberations of the present.
Everlasting, ever present, these pieces will outlive the ephemeral dance of humans, as they bear witness to the violence inflicted upon our planet. Calling us to reflect on the interconnectedness of material cycles, Infinite Vessel fantasizes with ecosystems of balance, slowness, life-giving, and wonder.
Text By María Escalona