Impressions With Clay: Ephemeral Sculptures for Gardens

In an interview about the cemetery with the gardener Matze, he mentions that the ground deep below our feet at the cemetery consists mostly of loam—a mixture of sand, silt, and clay. Loam becomes flexible when wet and shrinks and hardens when dry. Due to its slower drainage, it provides ideal conditions for fertile ground. Loam is also one of the oldest materials still used by people to build various things, ranging from small figurines to vases and houses. However, this loamy soil, upon which we stand, predates us. Its formation dates back to the retreating movements of glaciers more than 10,000 years ago.

Interacting with soil, loam or clay also means interacting with the different temporalities it encompasses—from recently decomposed leaves, insects and other organic matter to clay. Feeling the soil is a way to connect to the times and stories of the earth, as well as to the manual techniques that people keep practicing since starting pottery.  

Through the dynamic relationship between intention and intuition in shaping sculptures, while working with clay you observe the contrast between your own rhythm and the clay's natural pace, shedding light on your understanding of the contact with soil and its transformation. To ensure minimal disruption to the cemetery's ecosystem, the clay used in the workshop is brought to the site and remains only for the duration of the workshop. 

The workshop exercise aims to open up a poetic space that welcomes personal reactions to the garden, enriching different modes of communication and integrating the individual and collective experience. After listening to the “Garden Walks”, the workshop explores themes such as metabolism, soil, collaboration, urban politics and the stories woven within the cemetery. In this context, participants create clay sculptures for ephemeral interventions within the garden.