The Memory of Clay an Exhibition by Esther Mansur

The Memory of Clay

Exhibition: January 2nd thru 31st

Reception: Thursday, January 20th from 6 to 8 PM

Every potter knows that clay has memory. Clay is often perceived to be an indelicate sturdy clump of mud that we throw around, toss into fiery infernos, and slather in chemicals and powders in the hopes it will become glass. However, ask a potter and we will tell you that clay is a sensitive material that will remember how you treat it. Clay remembers what shapes you form and un-form it into, when you watered it and when you didn’t, when you picked it up too soon, when the AC unit turned on and hit just that one spot the wrong way, when you forgot it for a week, when it got too hot or too cold or too dry, and when you dripped that little drip and haphazardly wiped it away. The funny thing about the memory of clay, is that it is remarkably similar to the memory of us. The life of a lump of clay is so strikingly full of moments, just like the life of a person is so strikingly full of moments. Those moments which will become critical to the formation of us can be glaring, the moment something is dropped, or nearly hidden, a gentle momentary caress. 

This exhibition explores memory, identity, and the relationship between the two by playing with imagery of different stages of creative process and the interweaving of my own memories, drawing fully on the overflowing fullness that a life holds.