Karin Karinson
I build sculptures of hard objects, readymades that are given to me by friends or bought at flea markets. I join and combine the objects with glaze, clay and glass. The objects undergo a transformation, take on a new guise, change arena and speak to a different audience.
My interest lies within the mass produced, and highly consumed items, where the aesthetic expression is often perceived tasteless and the material value is low. Mass produced objects raise strong feelings of recognition, bringing associations, narratives and notions of time and existence. We live off and through material things, and even in our thoughts we refer to the use of things in a concrete, symbolic or metaphorical way. My sculptures embody the symbolic, aesthetic and cultural values that the objects in themselves posses, but by transferring these objects to alternative contexts I create contradictions and challenge the normative view. I want to raise questions that revolve around tradition. What happens when you move away from these traditions? And what happens in the encounter between spectator and object when the object no longer looks as expected?
I feel an attraction to readymades, for how they portray scenes from life far removed from my own, a romantic view of life. I am allured by their symbolic values and aesthetics. Their sense of humor and anonymity make it possible for me to fill them with new purpose of my choosing. I am fond of the idea that objects are mass produced in order that I can fill them with personal meaning – dreams, longing, desire, lust and wishes.
According to environmental psychology, consumption, that is a person acquiring a product, has greater implications than a product simply changing hands. A process has begun, where the consumer adapts the object by infusing meaning and symbolism, and by placing it in an environment that complements or enhances an already existing scene. The consumer re- contextualizes the object, i.e. creating new meaning by placing it in a new environment. Human beings actively construct, organize, regulate and change the world though consumption. Objects can, for example, create a symbolic presence of absent family members and past lives.
As a child I valued knick knacks, and I loved all things pink, shiny and glittery. These treasures led me into a dream land where everything could happen and the boundaries were set only by my imagination. This love lives on in me giving me a shamefaced enthusiasm for mass produced objects. Although these objects have no practical function, we choose to include them in our homes and lives for various reasons, which can be deep or simply decorative. Environmental psychology states that the individual mentally and emotionally incorporates the home and its objects, developing identification between them and the ego - an act that encompasses both aspects of security and self-fulfillment. In the relationship between humans and their environment there is an ongoing interaction where the environment is affected by human needs and values, while in turn the environment affects humans by giving stimulus, safety and comfort.
The ceramic material is charged with specific feelings, standards, and values, which have a big influence on my work. I take the liberty to enhance and overthrow set conceptions. By using readymades in my sculptures I make use of these charges and enhance the feelings I have for the objects. I revel!
