Owen Herlin 

Cracked concrete accumulates enough dust for a wandering dandelion to take root. The inevitable reconstruction of our world at the hands of nature will be the most beautifully frightening event. One that is already visible in the slow decay of our built environment and the rapid change of our climate. Post-industrial zones left to their devices. Participating with the encroaching natural world; my work integrates materials from my local environment. Using clay, wood ash, milkweed fibres, and recycled paper to anticipate these ever-present forces that will eventually reclaim my materials. In doing so I want my work to engage with larger ecological timelines, such as those which the earth takes to weather clay into rock. From the paper to the delicate forms of high-fire porcelain, everything is meant to find its way back to smashing waves and encroaching weeds.

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Owen Herlin is a Tiohtià:ke (Montréal) based artist exploring ceramics, zines, clothing, and creative reuse. Their practice revolves around material sourcing, progressively developing research through the use of local and unrefined materials. Integrating recycled paper, wild clay, wood ash, and other waste materials. Owen’s practice strives to create an intimate relationship with found materials, developing colour palettes and forms based on their inherent qualities. For example, testing with wood ash glazes, every batch has unknowable differences. Plants will accumulate many minerals throughout their life; phosphorus, potassium, calcium, and silica, necessary to grow their structure. The same minerals are found in ceramic glazes, forming and melting the glass. With these materials as a guide the work is able to shape itself. Producing objects that are born locally and die locally. Owen completed his Bachelor of Ceramics at Concordia University last spring. His work has been shown at Stephen Bulger, Albright Knoxx, Eastern Bloc, Atelier Galerie 2112, and Art Mûr.

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