Cecilè Ribas French-Spanish, b. 1977

I have always been inspired by the work of women artists who have been able to convey their intimate experiences about life through their work. Louise Bourgeois and her sculptures about her childhood and her relationship with her father. Marina Abramovic and her performances on the limits of the body. Ana Mendieta and her actions in connection with nature.

After working throughout my career with all kinds of materials, I fortuitously discovered the pleasure of working with my bare hands with such a malleable and tasty material as clay. The silence and the intimate, almost sensual connection that is created with this material while I shape it has me so hooked for the moment that almost all the ideas that I project in recent times are made of clay. I am moved by working with such a natural material, dust from the earth itself kneaded with water, which takes shape from the gentle pressure of my hands and only needs air and fire to harden and become a durable and resistant material.

The raku firings, in which the pieces are subjected to violent temperature changes, give the pieces a smoky appearance, a little rough, of an object that has survived from its birth to a hard experience. 

In my work I reflect on time, the rhythm of life, love, mourning and death. The process of creating a sculpture takes time, often slow and technically repetitive, which often leads me to a state of great presence. In those moments I feel that I am one with the material and that there is no distance between what I am and what I do. Sculpture allows me to be connected to the awareness of my life experience and reminds me to pay attention to where and to whom I dedicate my time and affections, the two most precious things in life. In my pieces I put the love I feel for being able to experience the creative act itself while exploring the form of everything that is alive, everything that grows, reproduces, gets sick or dies.