Illumagie - Andrea Sigl

I love to transfer an idea creatively into a definite form with my hands, searching for special details in the design, especially the shaping and the surface, of the object that comes into being. The materials are different: Clay, bronze, but mostly porcelain. This passion has its origins in my childhood. If there was something that was truly forbidden, it was to come close to my mother´s display cabinet with her fine art porcelain tea set in it. Every now and then she would delicately remove a cup from its saucer and hold it up against the light, the piece revealing a watermark portrait of a Japanese lady in the base. This was pure magic for a little child like me then! How did this woman get into the teacup? Today, I am surrounded by porcelain in my own studio. I still love playing with light, and even the magical moments haven´t left me. The challenge of working with porcelain, the technical precision and the complex procedure needed to achieve a fitting use of forms in such thinness originates from a deep fascination by the translucence of the material. The metamorphosis from supple, weak and fragile to physically hard and durable; the contrast between radiant and dark; the transformation of a uniform white into subtle tones of light: Particularly in these times it is a privilege to work with light and fragility. The equally diffuse and precisely transcribed shining objects (“shimmering islands”) are creations that remind one of coral pieces and floral-like animals and underwater shapes. The material “Porcelain” with its tenderness, fragility and translucent properties meets this subject matter perfectly. When switched on, the light objects come into effect, like a magical glow coming from somewhere else. When turned off and emptied of light, they turn tangible and their substance becomes verifiable.