Nilou Ghaemi is a ceramic artist with a focus on hand-building and sculptural works. Experimental processes are a driving force within her practice, pushing clay beyond its expected boundaries. The work is an amalgamation of perceived reality and fantasy, dissolving boundaries between time and space. Clay as a shapeshifting material is contradictory by nature, both fragile and seemingly everlasting, making ceramics a fitting medium for exploring the ideas and experiences around decay, ephemerality and memory.
Nilou Ghaemi is a ceramic artist with a focus on hand-building and sculptural works. Experimental processes are a driving force within her practice, pushing clay beyond its expected boundaries. The work is an amalgamation of perceived reality and fantasy, dissolving boundaries between time and space. Clay as a shapeshifting material is contradictory by nature, both fragile and seemingly everlasting, making ceramics a fitting medium for exploring the ideas and experiences around decay, ephemerality and memory.
stoneware, glaze, wood, epoxy, wall hanging
40" H x 30" W x 2" D
The inspiration for my capstone project springs from my fascination with textures of sedimentary rocks, specifically conglomerates. These natural formations are deposits of preexisting rocks and material that have accumulated slowly over time into another form. The visible fragments are evidence of decay that has transformed into something new. Through this the duality of decay and renewal, I explore the possibilities to create image based textural sculptures with clay.
The slab forms showing the outline of a seated figure are made up of 10 separate pieces. The imagery is sourced from family photographs, self portraits, and shadow outlines. The drawings are intentionally
manipulated. Through the act of remembering, the
figures become distorted. They are outstripped by
decaying memories, removed from the original moment and influenced by changes in perspective.
23" H x 42" W x 1.5" D
The image shows two figures lying together while their silhouettes overlap. The piece conveys a visual depiction of relationship dynamics, space, and closeness, within the frame. Compressing spatial distance and perspective to show each figure as an individual and the abstract overlap of shapes they form together.
9 " H x 16" D
The theme of the show was the living room. Sharing fruit with loved ones was a common occurrence in the living room growing up. Although not specific to Iranians, it is a significant part of the social culture. Preparing and cutting fruit for one another is seen as a gesture of love and care. The colours of the fruit in the piece have been removed drawing out the life and flavours, leaving a grey blue surface reminiscent of mould. The work is meant to highlight the acceptance in which love is shown in some ways and not in others. It also brings to mind the cultural pageantry around abundance and fruits on display with a reference to the rich history of still life in art.
5" H x 6.75" W x 6.75" D
This piece is about obsession, specifically about a time when the word éponge (french for sponge) was lodged in my mind like an earworm for days. Similar to a zoetrope, the piece spins smoothly creating a cyclical animation of a running sponge figure.
stoneware, glaze, wall hanging
2.75" H x 2.5" W x 1" D each
Each wall hanging is the legal size of a Canadian passport photo. The 9 pieces represent the number of years it took my family to receive Canadian citizenship. It can be read from left to right like English or right to left like Persian. The colours are referencing a Persian blue that is common across traditional crafts like earthenware pottery and architectural tiles.
stoneware, steel brackets
21" H x 22" W x 1.25" D
There is a closeup outline of a face hidden within the ceramic frame. The bottom edge of the piece sits 7 inches forward from the wall on two steel brackets and leans back casting a dramatic shadow. Emotional residue is the idea that if someone experiences an intense emotion within a physical space they leave behind a trace of that energy that can be felt by others even when they are no longer present in that space.
stoneware, silver, brass
10.75" H x 7" W x 7" D
This piece is a response to a sculpture on display at
my grandmother’s house. The blue and white ceramic sculpture was a figure of a boy holding a cup. Growing
up the kids were forbidden from touching the display
objects at the house. A challenging directive for most. This piece is the fantasy character behind the original sculpture. It holds a mask of the boy’s face and entices the viewer to interact with its reflective silver cup.
5.5" H x 73" W x 8.5" D
The single piece that is repeated resembles hip bones but when assembled they take the form of a vertebrae. The dry surface of the chain has a fine cracking texture. The raw colour of the red clay is a reference to the
creation story in islam which states that humans are created from clay.