FeSO4

Sulfate, also known as salt, is often used to paint ceramics, resulting in different shades of colour according to its concentration and the time afforded for the process.
Aviv La Oz Kalif and Avia Haimi’s installation is composed of variously sized and shaped porcelain objects, which were immersed in a solution containing ferrous sulfate. In contrast to a conventional colouring process, in this case the metal seems to “drink up” the sulfate, so that not only the surface, but the entire ceramic body is suffused with color.

Kalif and Haimi’s group of objects is characterised by shades of brown that lend them a monochromatic appearance, while the use of different types and levels of immersion endows each object with a unique appearance, Despite the precision required in this lengthy process, which takes place in a laboratory, the final result is unpredictable, and can only be appraised following the object’s second firing in the kiln. The inherent tension between control and freedom requires the artist to succumb to the material, to color, to change and to unexpected surprises.

*The project was realized with the support of the Edmond de Rothschild Center