Keywords: Ritual, Divination, Transformation, Materiality & Mysticism

Exhibition overview: Main gallery space, Sint Lucas Antwerp MFA, 2023. Autonomous Context Master’s program. Installation consisting of 8 glazed ceramic pieces, wall-mounted sculptures of various organic sizes (2023–2024).

Persuasion by Tears (2023–2024) is an installation comprising eight ceramic sculptures that explore the dramatic character of candlelight, the vulnerability of wax, and the passage and layering of time. The sculptures investigate the transformative qualities inherent in ephemeral materials, reflecting on human emotion, care, and attentive presence. Through this work, I aim to engage viewers in an intimate encounter with impermanence, ritual, and the subtle energies conveyed by ordinary actions.

The installation draws its conceptual framework from the esoteric interpretation of candle “tears”—the droplets of wax that descend as a candle burns. In ritual practice, these drips carry a symbolic meaning beyond the physical melting caused by fire: they signify an energetic charge received during a prayer, spell, or request. The behavior of the wax—its color, speed of dripping, and the direction from which it falls—can be read as a form of divination, providing insight into the potency or outcome of the intention being set. This reading of candle behavior reflects the belief that matter retains traces of spiritual or emotional energy.

By translating these ephemeral, ritualistic phenomena into permanent ceramic forms, the installation captures the tension between fragility and endurance, process and preservation. The flowing lines and shapes of the sculptures echo the motion of molten wax, while the ceramic medium allows for a reflection on time and memory: the fleeting becomes tangible, the impermanent solidified. Each sculpture embodies a layered narrative, connecting physical transformation with human affect, care, and contemplation.

Ultimately, Persuasion by Tears invites viewers to consider how small gestures of attention or caring for a flame, observing its behavior, responding to its subtle signals—can carry profound meaning. It engages with the intersection of ritual, materiality, and human emotion, offering a space to reflect on vulnerability, transformation, and the invisible currents of connection that flow through acts of devotion.