Courtship Behavior

2019

Ceramic and lighting components

Satin Bowerbird in the eastern Australia is a known for their courtship behavior where males build a structure and embellish it with blue objects they collect to catch a mate’s eye. As blue is rather rare to find in nature they often resort to stealing from other males' structures.

What a curious thing they do, I first thought. And then, what about things I collect? 

In the studio I have accumulated glaze test tiles of various colors and textures, notebooks and paper filled with scribbles and words, and pipes and finials from unused lamps. I collect other things too, like stories I read, thoughts I had during conversations with my friends, and techniques for making things. I take bits and pieces from all of these, take them apart, put them together again to make new work, for someone to pick up and make it into a part of their lives. 

Photography: Nico Schinco & Yuko Nishikawa