MALOU PALMQVIST / MARCUS PALMQVIST

MALOU PALMQVIST : I am interested in the structure of decay. Its form, play of colours, the variations of putrefaction and mould, and the ornamental aspects, the natural mutation of things. How odd objects sit together and shape something new, feeding off each other in a kind of symbiosis. A three dimensional montage, a conjoining of disparate parts gathered from diverse sources and combined, organic and synthetic. How the materials react when they meet; parts that collapse, balances, and gives an illusion that they have stopped in the middle of a movement. My work is on the borderline between the beautiful, fragile, the seemingly well-balanced and the grotesque and ugly.

I am creating sculptures in series, repeating a similar but different shape over and over. I do this to refine and perfect the form. Each time I create, every fold becomes a little more stretched, and every angle a bit more unstable. A constant development of the same to the point to where the difference is immense. A collected series that is bound together by ideas and elements, for example a colour range or a subtle concept.

The base of my sculptures are usually created in stoneware which are formed into ergonomically inclined objects. To create natural folds and gathers in the clay I sometimes make it very fragile, so a collapse is inevitable. I constantly want to test the limit of the clay, so the pieces usually need a lot of support whilst drying. This part of the process is beautiful, with newspaper, sticks, carving tools and other pieces of clay holding various parts in place. This is an attempt to master and try to control the collapse. Colour and textures are extremely important to me when creating my sculptures and I continuously strive to discover new surface and glaze effects. For example, the layering effect that engobes creates together with the glaze and how they can be used to enhance the shape of the piece. I use them along the curved lines and folds of my sculptures to give the illusion of even more depth.
I have a fascination for natural materials and have as a compliment to the clay also been working with stucco lustro plaster, mixed with earth pigments to create a marble like stone surface. I have used these as building blocks when creating my sculptures.
The cylinder and the sphere are reoccurring shapes in my work, these geometric shapes, often made in stucco lustro or painted wood, stand in direct opposition to the organic, fluid ceramic parts.

My vision going forward is to scale up the size of my pieces and create larger sculptures. I strive to see my sculptures in public spaces and observe how they appear and what changes in them when placing them in a different sur-rounding. I also seek to deepen my understanding and knowledge in ceramics, to encourage myself into testing the limits of the material, by twisting and turning it into sublime, undulating forms. I want to continue experiment-ing with colours, glazes and the general look and feel of the surface. I want to prolong the collapse.