Irja Syvertsen
Evergem, East Flanders, Belgium
Irja Syvertsen in her studio in Belgium.
Irja Syvertsen, De Koppenberg (Heads’ Mountain), 2013. Black clay fired to 1160°C 30 cm H x 40 cm D
Irja Syvertsen, (w)earth, 2019. Terracotta sprayed with a thin layer of ‘home clay’ (clay dug up underneath her parents’ house). About 20 cm H x 26 cm W x 110 cm L for total installation
In February, I was running around like the Roadrunner (beep beep). Doing one job (teaching), then take on another temporary job (ceramic studio assistant in another school), experimenting with ceramic materials and finding my way in a new medium (screen printing). I was rushing.
Then the virus hit, and everything came to a stop.
A part of me that was always running out of time suddenly had to walk in slow motion. Over the following weeks, a calmness covered me of a kind I hadn’t experienced in a long time. Although I felt guilty and privileged at first, the downtime was an unexpected gift—allowing me to look back at what I had been doing (sometimes frantically) and get an overview. Working at different places and not having a fixed ceramic studio makes my process often fragmented and difficult to view as a whole. During the lockdown I used the sudden silence to get organized, reflect, read, and continue working on a project called (w)earth.
It was as if I had been granted space and time to zoom out.
I do hope I can adopt a part of this focused stillness and take it along with me when we go back to ‘normal’. “Go slowly, you’ll get there faster” has never sounded more true.
But, in the meantime, Belgium is bracing itself for a second wave and ‘normal’ seems a bit further down the road than it did three days ago.
Irja Syvertsen, ABG.1, 2013. Ceramic with glaze. 10 cm H x 20 cm W x 30 cm L
Irja Syvertsen, as yet untitled (maybe a future part of ‘(w)earth’), 2020. Glazed ceramics and textile
During the Lockdown, Irja Syvertsen played around with molds of nostalgic found objects, like stacked mussels, another tin plate, some kind of heavy tablecloth, and a toy wolf.
Irja Syvertsen, as yet untitled (maybe future part of (w)earth), 2020. Low fired ceramic plate with thin layer of ‘home clay’ and blue backside (try out)
Irja Syvertsen, as yet untitled (maybe future part of (w)earth), 2020. Bisque fired impression in red clay of found object — to be frank, a golden false plinth in styrofoam. I mean, it’s crazy what people throw away these days ; )
Irja Syvertsen, as yet untitled (maybe future part of (w)earth), 2020. Bisque fired, unfinished try out
Irja Syvertsen, as yet untitled (maybe future part of (w)earth), 2020. Low fired ceramic plate with partial thin layer of ‘home clay’