Artist Highlight - Magdalena Lysiak

1. In Decomposing As We Go, bees become both subject and material through the use of glaze derived from their bodies. What led you to transform this living organism into ceramic matter?

I've searched for more meaning in my practice as ceramicist. Ash glazes, as one of oldest techniques, seemed fit, as ash for me is the perfect material carrier of meaning - of its past organic life and future potential. I wanted to push it further, not just as a technique, type of glazing or decoration, but as a concept that focuses on this distinctive feature, uniquely owned by ceramic matter, of becoming simultaneously the medium and the story it is telling. The most moving part is transforming organic matter into ash - total disintegration, loss of shape, colors, scents, every feature of life. And then turning it once again into solid, permanent state of being, both new and still an echo of its past.

It is important part of my artistic statement to never be the cause of death of insects I use in my projects.

2. Your concept of “Meaningful Glaze” treats material as an autonomous storyteller. How does this idea shape the relationship between glaze, surface, and meaning in this work?

In "Decomposing as we go" I try to push meaning to its purest form, abandon natural drive towards aesthetics that focuses on colors or shapes that catch the eye. Each plain module holds just one small spot of glaze - amount created by single bee body. It's not serving any functional or decorative purposes. Here the glaze can simply be, as a trace of being, a kind of abstract portrait, unique in it's elemental way as a chemical chronicle of a single life.

3. Each porcelain module functions as an individual unit while forming part of a larger group. How does this modular structure reflect the social organisation of a bee colony?

I like to think of bee colonies as idealized symbol of a harmonious and orderly, well organized community, where every bee is significant while being constantly on the move and the swarm, as a whole, ever changing its shape. Multiplied autonomous modules reflect that feature.

In "Decomposing as we go" bees that was transformed into glaze, originated from the so-called wandering swarm – a group of bees that swarmed and abandoned the original colony to start one of their own. Unfortunately, most of those bees died. it was a starting point for my search for an individual distinctiveness of each little life, in contrary to the associations of perfect collective.

4. The work transforms organic matter into an inorganic ceramic surface. What interests you about this moment of transformation between life, decay, and permanence?

Ceramics is about turning matter into durable and permanent. We're used to think of it as a function - from lump of clay to durable pot. When we think "organic", we usually mean something temporary, that can rot, decay and further serve as a kind of nutrient in constant circulation of matter. Ceramics can take these, once organic, particles out of that circulation, almost eternally, from human life span point of view, redefining them as completely new entity. That's quite powerful.

5. Bees are often described as indicators of environmental change. How does this ecological symbolism influence the conceptual framework of the piece?

Bees are complex by nature. They represent cycles of nature, death and rebirth, fleeting beauty and sheer pragmatism, health and determination. Our lives are interconnected - bees and humans depend on each other. We care about them, fearing what would become of us, if bees have gone extinct. I observe the specific logic of death of honey bees and wild pollinators, how persistent yet fragile they can be, trying to live in the cities, where there nests are permanently endangered. I'd like to think that transforming them into glaze is a kind of tribute and appreciation.

6. The modules can be rearranged, echoing the shifting movement of a swarm. How important is this sense of collective motion within the installation?

Modules can be arranged variably, depending on the statement I'm making, what characteristics I want to tell about. When it's about harmony and order - I choose grid arrangement, where each module has it's place. When I tell abut their journey, their drive to independence, I put them in a line, that also reflects on how easily we can cross our paths with them. Sometimes I like to arrange them freely, as movable objects, inviting viewers to interact with them, it strengthens the feeling of our coexistence and impact on each other.

7. Glaze is traditionally valued for its visual qualities. How does your approach expand glaze into a narrative and conceptual medium?

Ceramics is traditionally valued through the lens of its techniques and visual effects they can bring. I like to shift the value from aesthetics to knowledge of what it's made of. Physical matter has vast narrative potential. If ceramics is all about its technology and science, so let's make it that way, let's look at everything around us as the chemical potential, that we can translate into ceramic object and let it tell it's own story. Ash used in ceramics can make a language of its own.

8. Within The Invisible Made Visible, the work draws attention to overlooked ecological labour. What reflections do you hope viewers have about the small lives and processes embedded within the material?

I hope that viewers, by interacting with my work, experiencing how single spots are all that's left from tiny, yet so significant being, can become a little more mindful, just enough to appreciate how important an unnoticed little lives can be, buzzing in the background our everyday routines.