UTSUWA

UTSUWA/ URN

The Japanese word UTSUWA literally means vessel or container and commonly refers to any kind of cup, plate, dish or pot. This collaborative project with Jo Sijen involves a different kind of container: an URN.

The first sketches and ideas were developed in my studio in Iceland. The plaster models and moulds, as well as a series of the end products, were developed in Jo Sijen studio in Eindhoven. Our project at DDW, including the different steps of making process of the urns, is shown at the studio.

There I also exhibit a small series of drawings and sketches in clay: ideas of unreal and scary creatures from Icelandic folk tales from my childhood memories. Most of my experiments began with sketches on old accounting paper, from a stockroom that was left behind in at the Kirsuberjatréð shop in Reykjavík, a design store which dates back to when the building housed a stationary shop. The small clay sculptures are made in-between different projects and are made of leftover clay. Many of my works reflect on craftsmanship, knowledge, and techniques which function is often unclear.