THE WOUND SERIES

A way to let go: when art imitates life.

Releasing a series of vases for the first time, Paris-based artist Justine Beral - also known as Beramics - chose to name it after a piece by Anatol Knotek. « I came across a picture of his work 8 years ago and the impact of a simple tear immediately resonated with me. » Composed of 10 ripped open amphoras, glazed with contrasting colors in order to symbolize emotions bleeding through a wound, Justine explains what initiated the project: « I got hurt. Pretty bad. And it took me a while to understand it, put it into words and fathom the damage it had caused. I also was under the impression that no-one could really understand what it felt like to me, so I thought why not give it a physical representation. ».

Finding it easier to externalize her feelings through a creative process, she says: « I tend to feel certain things on a very high level, and sitting through a heartbreak becomes almost unbearable as you don’t know what to do with the pain. It builds up inside you and eats you up. Working with the clay was a great coping mechanism, as it was a sort of silent dialogue that allowed me to get something out of my system without phrasing it.» Regarding the tear on the vases, which had to be done at a specific moment during the drying window for the piece to hold itself correctly, she says: « I remember a few people asking me what had happened and if the crack was on purpose, and I would laugh and say yes. The cracks are the embodiment of the disrespect, the lies, bad faith and cowardice I had to put up with. And the fact that they were on purpose as well cut deep. »

The main message here, however, is that there is a silver lining: « We all go through something similar at some point in our lives I guess, and I’m really glad it’s taught me everything I know now. That’s why I wanted to turn this into a positive. The vases illustrate something beautiful that has been mishandled and damaged, but it is that process of destruction that makes it unique and gives it added value. » Taking a page from the Japanese art of Kintsugi, which consists of mending broken porcelain with gold, the series follows the same philosophy of embracing imperfections caused by time and wear: « Only in this case there’s nothing to fix. I think we give pieces of ourselves to people we fall in love with at our own expense, and we cannot claim them back when the relationship ends. You have to let them go, and that doesn’t make you incomplete. It makes room for what’s to come, actually. »

The series is now available exclusively on Beramics.com

Photos: Julien Boudet (@Bleumode)