PORTFOLIO
ARETE
2018
Arete
Beatrice Waller, 2018
76 glazed stoneware cylinders, plywood, ink, coffee, steel
630 x 430x 1200 mm
“Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.”
-Samuel Beckett, Worstward Ho
Arete is an exploration of the connection between excellence in making and morality, reflecting the artist’s experience of improvement in both these areas as a maker and a Christian in the world. It is named after the Greek word 'arete' as is means both 'excellence' and 'virtue' that leads to happiness, connecting the two main aspects of the piece. Virtuosity in craftsmanship and the journey toward the perfect Platonic cylinder draws strong parallels to sanctification in the Christain life, both being processes of constant failure, improvement and growth.
Consisting of 76 ceramic cylinders in neat, chronological rows, this process of refinement is distinct. An absent place is left for the 77th vessel which is a symbol of unattainable perfection. The number 77 is significant as seven is the biblical number of completeness. All of the cylinders fall short of this perfection having started as a 77-gram balls of clay and through the throwing and firing process losing most of this weight.
The colour choice is another reference to the unattainable with white used as a symbol of purity. The vessels again fail to achieve this being off-white, the inside being a tone darker symbolising human's inner-nature where imperfections cannot be hidden. The use of iron oxide in the glaze as a colourant is symbolic of forgiveness which is achieved by Jesus' death, the iron being a reference to blood.
I NEED A SIGN: 21 ATTEMPTS TO WALK ON WATER
2018
I need a sign: 21 attempts to walk on water
Beatrice Waller, 2018
Video Performance
4 minutes, 41 seconds
I need a sign: 21 attempts to walk on water is a critique of the human desire to challenge God to prove his existence. It depicts the artist attempting to walk across a kid’s inflatable pool in the natural environment 21 times. Through futile, repetitive action, it explores the human desire to seek meaning, drawing from The Myth of Sisyphus in Classical Mythology where Sisyphus was condemned to pushing a boulder up a mountain only for it to roll back down again every time it reached the summit.
This constant cycle reflects the tension between the desire to see if miracles exist and simultaneously wanting to remain in ignorance, symbolised in the work by the repeated failure of the performer to walk on water as Jesus did. They know that they cannot succeed but continue to fail and are knowingly and almost purposefully blinded, a phenomenon seen in many aspects of people’s lives.
The pool is vibrant in colour and unnatural in the environment around it. This aims to give a sense of absurdity to the repeated failure. Testing God for extraordinary action is bizarre and almost juvenile when there is proof of his existence is given already in the world around us through the beauty of nature.