Valérie Bernardini
My work is based on fragments of nature the city has to offer.
My intention is to use the notion of “Beau-laid”. It is a French word that introduces the concept of beauty within a piece that might be perceived as ugly and vice-versa, and the idea that contradictory values can co-exist in the same work.
I photograph walls, pavements and corners in abandoned urban places where I find traces of organic matter that remain in the cracks and relics. I try to translate this into clay. I do this by mixing porcelain, black clay or clay coloured by oxide or stain together. Then I construct and extrude forms that can be both intricate and delicate. I explore the tactile and emotional qualities of the material. I rip, roll, squeeze and press the material to breaking point and near-ruin in search of new aesthetic qualities.
I use an intuitive and experimental approach in order to embrace ‘happenstance’.
My aim is to create from fragments, organic-like pieces.
