










Ceramic tests using magnetite at different atmospheres, temperatures and forms which led to the final piece 'Talking with Ceramic Tongues'
2024
Photo Credit: Henrik Nömm and Julie Hrnčířová
Talking with Ceramic Tongues
June 2024
Master project, KHiO, Oslo
Ceramic, magnetite, black iron oxide, concrete, magnets, motor, sensor
"For the project 'Talking with Ceramic Tongues' Davies has developed a magnetic clay, using industrialised ceramic materials and magnetite, a naturally magnetic mineral, whose particles respond to the pull of the earth's magnetic field. Magnetite gave birth to the scientific age, being what allowed humans to discover forces that govern the earth and experiment with electricity, electromagnetism and electronics. In parallel, it retains its mystery despite attempts to deplete and exploit it through reason, science and industry. Drawing inspiration from ancient magnetic technology, such as the stone chambers of New England, ecological thought and optic experiments by Athanuathis Kircher, 1600s, Davies creates a layering of visual messages from different time scales, drawing lines between the natural world and material culture. Davies references baroque aesthetics, a movement with a desire for deceptive appearances and transportation into a mystical realm; a movement fuelled by peculiar and untrustworthy times. Led by imagination, metaphor and uncertainty her works come into being, in the hope of questioning expectations of different materials, reexamining their histories and opening to new understandings of our surroundings."