The Eighth Biennale of Israeli Ceramics 2016

The Eighth Biennale of Israeli Ceramics 2016

ERETZ ISRAEL MUSEUM, TEL AVIV, 2016

The main purpose of the Eighth Biennale of Ceramics was to explore the unique
and expressive potential of ceramics within art and culture. It thus aimed to present an
infinite range of possibilities for ceramic expression whether fired of unfired.

Trust

This ceramic installation was inspired by a childhood memory of an abandoned
swimming pool in Kori's hometown of Cuernavaca, Mexico. As a child, Kori had
spent time alone inside this empty pool, which she describes as a
ceramic womb. The empty space in which she spent hours on end served as an environment of solitude and reflection.

This memory was then transformed into a three-walled installation, with its floor and walls fully covered in 2,000 ceramic tiles. These hand-made and hand-painted cobalt blue tiles depicted autobiographical scenery, creating a room-sized personal diary or memoir.

Designed as an immersive space approximately 3 meters wide, 2 meters deep,
and 2.3 meters high, the installation invited viewers into a contemplative

environment. At its center stood a monumental, wheel-thrown jar, 
approximately 1.80 meters tall. This unfired vessel was created on-site during the
Biennale, thus bypassing traditional kiln limitations. Its scale and form echoed the
timeless power of ancient ceramic monuments, yet its unfired state emphasized
fragility and temporality, creating a poignant contrast between durability and
vulnerability.

Visitors were invited to step into the tiled space, where the jar, initially appearing
small from a distance, grew in visual scale as one approached, evoking a sense
of awe and humility. In all, this installation merged personal memory with
collective creation, ancient tradition with present-day vulnerabilit

y, forming a
powerful homage to the vessel as both object and sym

bol.