Sculpting perspectives by breaking the mould -

Israeli ceramics artist Efrat Eyal.
| Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

“I did not choose art, art chose me,” says ceramics artist Efrat Eyal. It was a pottery class she enrolled in as a hobby, which inspired Efrat, who is also an art therapist, to make it her profession. The artist is currently in town for the second edition of the Indian Ceramics Triennale which features 34 projects by more than 60 artists from over 12 countries.

Efrat, who also has a background in biology, says she was captivated by pottery and ceramics, and how it gives one the ability to mould one’s art according to one’s imagination. Although she always wanted to be an artist, being a mother, it was only after she got her own studio that Efrat was able to focus on her work completely.

Her artistic language is based on the deconstruction of formal conventions. She takes everyday objects, images and symbols from the history of art and ceramics and reassembles them in contemporary contexts, often relating to gender and social issues.

Her work in the Triennale titled “Attendance Check,” is a site-specific wall installation which consists of a partial grid. The handmade ceramic pieces are fragments of moulded ready-made objects, all different from one another and unique, that represent the grout between the invisible bricks.

‘The Art Wife Project’, features women doing everyday chores. “One of the subjects I frequently deal with, is the constant tension that accompanies female artists who practice their art and at the same time tend their home and family,” she says. It examines how femininity is perceived in society, and the expectations that format the female gender identity. “As a mother and housewife myself, I feel the work we do is equally important. It is art.”

With the difficult war condition back home, Efrat says art has become her saviour. “Art is a humane thing. While the atrocities break my heart, I think it’s nice we have art. It gives us a voice and space for expression.”