Conversing with Matter: Moulding the Quenched
This event is part of the exhibition Water Views and the hybrid symposium More-than-Human Worlds in Artistic Research, organized by the Environmental Humanities Center Amsterdam in collaboration with the Environmental Humanities Centers of the Universities of Bristol and Stavanger.
Workshop by Benedetta Pompili (closed event)
This tailored 2.5–3 hour workshop reframes the ongoing project Conversing with Matter, focusing on the intersection of design, ceramics, and social practice through the use of local and more-than-human resources recovered from industrial and architectural waste.
Following a brief introduction to the development of a design practice rooted in material experimentation and ecological awareness, participants will engage in hands-on material research. The session centers on the use of local river clay sourced from the Maas River, which will be applied to a mould collaboratively developed with artist Winnie Herbstein.
Participants will be divided into groups to press the clay into the mould, shaping the panel collaboratively. A glaze composed of treated asbestos—alongside other recovered materials—will be prepared and applied by the participants. The resulting panels will be cut to size, fired, and permanently exhibited in the Utrecht Material District archive. (please note it is a closed event)
Bio
Benedetta Pompili (IT, 1995) is a social designer based in Amsterdam. A dedication to materials with a focus on their cultural and environmental impact identifies her practice. Her research and design works become journeys to learn, retrace, and share knowledge by thinking and acting in an interdisciplinary way.