Fukushima series

the “origin” of this three part series, the all black ones came first, followed by the pink and black, and then finally the silver and black, were one of my responses/reactions to what had happened in Japan during the earthquake and consequent tsunami in 2011.. The black chawan were thrown as tubes on the wheel and then ripped/torn/cut apart, symbolizing the destructive nature of the events before reassembling. They carry an industrial feel to them as well with their matt black surfaces and angular shapes, almost stealth like, and while the disaster was natural in origin, it, like Chernobyl, became a toxic, nuclear industrial catastrophe on a scale that few suspected could or would happen.

Over time however, communities were rebuilt, lives somewhat restored albeit scarred having been violently torn apart, and what nature had been affected by the nuclear fallout, began it’s unceasing process of rebirth. Hope was something that people could carry in their hearts again. As a result while the forms of the second series, with their pinkish blush and matt black surfaces are similar to the first generation with it’s strictly ominous black color, the feel of the work was intended to convey the message of hope and rebirth.