Martin McWilliam: Trompe l'oeil

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Martin McWilliam, "Bowl Object XXII-IV," 2021

semi-glazed, woodfired coil textured porcelain with slate base, 12.5 x 9.5 x 2.5 inches (32 x 24 x 6.5 cm).

Martin McWilliam: Trompe l'oeil

Clay, water and fire. Form leading to the formless. Space dissolving space. 

"What I am looking for in my work with 'clay and fire' lies in their own essential beauty and the play between them - a beauty subjective, difficult to define, control or repeat - something to do with chance coincidence. My methods are as simple / direct as possible where chance has space to surprise. This leads me along a narrow ridge between my will and that of the material.

I make coil/slab-built Stoneware "Trompe-l'œil" objects, coloured with kaolin slips all wood-fired in a 6 ku/m chamber kiln. They give the idea of simple bowls and jars, of a tradition that has given me a lifelong fascination, but take them into another space of the mind." - Martin McWilliam

McWilliam’s work imprints itself into a very long tradition that dates far beyond the strands of modernity and the concept of art as we know it, at the same time as he points to the most advanced scientific studies. In premodern cultures the cultic object would form a bridge between this world and the divine forces beyond human understanding.

Today we investigate these fields in the context of consciousness studies, Superstring theory and quantum physics that all end up questioning the present view on reality. Both represent and materialize a connexion between the world as we know it and the space that is beyond human consciousness. Compared to the cultic object, in a postmodern context McWilliam creates a similar passage, precisely because his works adapt and incorporate the postmodern reality.

The play with dimensions openly tells the story of postmodern deconstruction, but still, essence has not been lost. The extended awareness that is created as time and space merge offers us a possibility to get in touch with those deeper layers of human existence. The most existential experiences expressed in the humble form of a vessel.