CLARA SPILLIAERTPORTFOLIO 2024

DRAWINGSCERAMIC WORKS
PUBLIC SPACE
PLASTER WORKSVIDEO WORKS
PUBLICATIONCVDRAWINGS

diary drawing
12/16.12 (2015), mixed media on paper, 148x210 mm
Installation view at solo Clara Sekirara (2022), Contemporary Art Foundation, Tokyo, Photo: Keizo Kioku

diary drawing
7/19.5 (2014), mixed media on paper, 148x210 mmdiary drawing
12/3.2 (2015), mixed media on paper, 148x210 mmdiary drawing
18/19.8.15 (2015), mixed media on paper, 148x210 mm

When I was sixteen, I made the move toBelgium from Japan. My artistic development
took off in response to the necessity ofassimilating a foreign culture and as a meansof communication with people around me.
Besides learning Dutch, I developed my own
artistic language by daily confiding my mental
images and experiences as drawings to paper.
This very personal and graphical identity
building was kept in motion by churning out
intimate diary drawing books.

diary drawing
5/9.3 (2016), mixed media on paper, 148x210 mm

Installation view at Paper Cuts (2023), Keteleer Gallery, Antwerp
Photo: We Document Art/Alex Shlyk

CERAMIC WORKSSelf-portrait (2015), mixed media, 45x45x190 cm
Installation view at Belvedère Boekentoren (2015), Ghent

An enshrined fountain in the shape of anarcissus flower symbolizes as it were sevenyears of producing diary drawings. The
continuous flow of water epitomizes an innersource of vitality. Water drops on the mirror
allude to repetitive self-reflection.
https://vimeo.com/196454257

Self-portrait (2015), mixed media, 45x45x190 cm
Installation view at solo Clara Sekirara (2022)
Contemporary Art Foundation, Tokyo, Photo: Keizo Kioku

from the series Fertile Vases (2020), glazed ceramic, 50x35x10 cm

from the series Fertile Vases (2020, detail), glazed ceramic, 50x35x10 cm

from the series Fertile Vases (2020), glazed ceramic, 25x25x30 cm

Since 2018 I have been working intensively
with ceramics. This series of sculptures referto the tradition of vases, a container to befilled with water, as well as to symbols ofmotherhood or how I experience fertility.
The pistils of flowers often form a starting
point, sometimes accompanied with theanimal elements. They are at the same time
welcoming and protective, representing theduality of motherhood.

from the series Fertile Vases (2020, detail), glazed ceramic, 25x25x30 cm

Wapenschilden (2020), glazed ceramics, group of 20 works
Installation view at solo Clara Sekirara (2022), Contemporary Art Foundation, Tokyo, Photo: Keizo Kioku

Wapenschilden (2020), glazed ceramics, group of 20 works
Installation view at solo Clara Sekirara (2022), Contemporary Art Foundation, Tokyo, Photo: Keizo Kioku

from Wapenschilden (2020), glazed ceramic, 12x15x1 cm

from Wapenschilden (2020), glazed ceramic, 12x15x1 cm

from Wapenschilden (2020), glazed ceramic, 12x15x1 cm

from Wapenschilden (2020), glazed ceramic, 7x9x0.5 cm

from Wapenschilden (2020), glazed ceramic,10x10x0.5 cm

At the root of this series lies a strong interestin heraldic beasts and other fauna and flora as
guardian symbols. How do these symbols, which
are understood across languages and cultures,
participate in the formation of group identity
and how do they simultaneously represent therelationship between humans and nature? By
applying the plasticity of clay I tried to create apersonal and contemporary interpretation of thistraditional patriarchal symbolism.

from Wapenschilden (2020), glazed ceramic, 6x8x0.5 cm

Wedding Dove (2021), glazed ceramics, 22x5x8 cm

In various rituals, different animals play symbolicroles. White wedding pigeons released during
a wedding intrigue me in particular. Whatshould this bird carry on its wings? The grasping
handprint is engraved on their bodies, at themoment of sublime human happiness. At thesame time, the dove is scared, uncomfortable andsuffocated, which seems to imply the dilemma ofmarriage.

Wedding Dove (2021), glazed ceramics, 22x5x8 cm

Installation view of Stambomen (2021), LUCA School of Arts, Ghent

Stambomen (2021)
in the film Spilliaert (2022) directed by Lisa Spilliaert

At the root of this series rests my interest in
family trees to represent kinship. A Brussels
sprout – indispensable in Belgian folk cuisine– takes on the scale of the human body andbecomes a monumental family tree. Leaf veinsbecome blood vessels running between the buds,
sometimes interrupted, sometimes dripping. It is a
praise for the vegetable that has been grown andeaten for centuries in my father’s homeland. The
making process – the slow, manual build-up withclay – symbolizes the development of my ownidentity. The sprout family tree is accompanied
by a series of totem-like statues; a family portrait,
a feeding mother bird pistil, umbilical cords
entwined like ivy, a fusion of a body and a tree…
each of which tells its own story, but together
they form a large forest.

Installation view of the spruit-stamboom from Stambomen (2021)
Ceramics, 0,6 x 0,6 x 2,4m De Wandelaar, Knokke-Heist

Hairy Tale (2023)
Installation at Lichtekooi Artspace photo: Thor Salden

Hairy Tale is an in-situ installation based on theanalogy between our handling of our body hairand the vegetation in our gardens. Body hair andgardens can equally be understood as borders
between ourselves and the outside world, andoperate as protective layers. Body hair is a fieldof tension that exposes the division between
human, animal, child, adult and gender. The garden
is a terrain to shape conceptions of nature. Bothnatural growth are manageable and provide astage on which the owner’s identity becomesvisible.
Both the intervention on body hair andvegetation in gardens are subject to the prevailingnorms of specific cultures. The social pressure
to remove one’s body hair is increasing andremoving unexpected vegetation in the garden
and around the house is a common obsession.
This phenomenon touches me deeply andencouraged me to create this work.

Hairy Tale (2023)
Installation at Lichtekooi Artspace photo: Thor Salden

For Hairy Tale, I created a hilly landscape in clay
in Lichtekooi, which upon closer inspection turnsout to be a large body. The floor’s light blue color
makes the figure appear to float on water. Theclay islands form body parts that rise above theimaginary water surface. At the bottom of thespace is the leg, on which grow black sprites.
Next comes the pubic area, the belly and thenavel, the breasts, the armpit and finally the face.
Various fragile plants, made of fired clay, growon each island. Some bloom, others have fruits.
Many stems have hairy leaves that, because of thescale of the figure, blur the boundary between
the body hair and plants. From the scalp growlittle stones that continue into the actual gardenof the exhibition space.

Hairy Tale (2023)
Installation at Lichtekooi Artspace photo: Thor Salden

The figure, comfortable and intimate with itself
and the vegetation, stands in stark contrast to
the Wall of Hair, exhibited in the passageway tothe garden. This work consists of 35 individuallyframed wax strips with body hair of visitors of theexhibition’s opening. The waxing was performed
by Lisa Spilliaert, who was dressed as a domina,
to emphasize the painful and masochistic natureof the depilation. The strips were framed in antiroot cloth – a black plastic tarp used to prevent
weeds from growing in gardens. I also wore a
costume made out of this anti-root cloth during
the opening to humorously criticize our social
oppression of body hair.

Hairy Tale / Make your own Garden (2023)
Performance at Lichtekooi Artspace photo: Thor Salden

PUBLIC SPACEMaking of Verboden Paradijs (2018), acryllic paint, 2x8m, GeraardsbergenVerboden Paradijs (2018, detail), acryllic paint, 2x8m, Geraardsbergen

Commissioned by the city of Geraardsbergen,I accomplished this eight-meter-long muralin a passage near the Grote Markt. The
medieval market fountain is honored andaccompanied by the plant and animal motifs
from the Hortus Conclusus tradition. The
woman carrying a large bowl with fish on herhead refers to a local folk festival Krakelingen,in which fish from the Dender river play animportant role.
https://vimeo.com/manage/videos/890883209

Verboden Paradijs (2018, detail), acryllic paint, 1x1m, Geraardsbergenhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTe9uIjMmCI&ab_channel=StadGent
Happy 50th Anniversary (2021), porcelain sound installation, 4 x 4 m
Publiek Park, Friends of S.M.A.K., Citadelpark Ghent

Happy 50th Anniversary (2021), porcelain sound installation, 4 x 4 m
Publiek Park, Friends of S.M.A.K., Citadelpark Ghent

In Japan, there is an ancient belief that thesound of bells scares away evil spirits andprotects yourself. If you go back in the historyof these bells, you will arrive at a sacred musicalinstrument called Kagura-suzu. The Kagura-suzu I
discovered during my trip to Kanazawa, was thestarting point for this work. Near the museums in
Ghent’s Citadel Park, stands the Kotoji lantern. It
was a gift from the city of Kanazawa in honor of
the 35th sisterhood between the two cities. On
the occasion of the 50th anniversary in 2021 ,the Young Friends of Vrienden v/h S.M.A.K. asked
me to create an artistic intervention. I made aninstallation in which 50 ceramic bells were hungfrom a tree next to the Kotoji lantern. The trunkof the tree can be seen as the handle of theKagura-suzu, and instead of shaking it by hand,
the wind jingles the bells. Each bel is shaped like asplit peach, referring to the primordial fruit as theorigin of the bell instruments.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTe9uIjMmCI&ab_channel=StadGent

Happy 50th Anniversary (2021), porcelain sound installation, 4 x 4 m
Publiek Park, Friends of S.M.A.K., Citadelpark Ghent

1000 bakstenen (2022-23), wall sculpture, Cemetery Rupelmonde1000 bakstenen (2022-23), 2 benches, WZC Poldervliet

Due to the distance rules and the ban on
physical contact, COVID-19 made us aware ofthe importance of touch. The habit of shaking
hands, a simple connecting gesture, was suddenly
taken away from us. A hand, a touch can meanso much in human communication. This gestureand the universal desire for touch is therefore
the basic concept for ‘1,000 bricks’. A projectthat was commissioned by Kruibeke to create amonumental artwork as a reminder of the victimsof COVID-19 and as a tribute to the aid workers.
I chose to work with locally quarried clay. The
region belongs to the Boom clay layer and has ahistory of brickyards stretching back to the 14thcentury. This shared ground and history connects
the three sub-municipalities: Kruibeke, Bazel andRupelmonde.

1000 bakstenen (2022-23), participation at WZC PoldervlietIn the fall of 2022 I stood in the three districts
with bins full of handmade bricks in soft clay.
Residents were invited to place their handprints
there. Some did this subtly, others firmly, each intheir own way. In total, about 1000 bricks weremade.
The fired bricks can be found at six locations
across the three sub-municipalities in the form ofbenches, walking paths and a wall sculpture. Bycombining the stones with handprints into various
art integrations, the inhabitants of Kruibeke aresymbolically brought back together.
https://www.kruibeke.be/1-000-bakstenen-eencovid-19-herdenkingsmonument-voor-kruibeke

1000 bakstenen (2022-23), bench, Cemetery Kruibeke

1000 bakstenen (2022-23), walking path, Mercatoreiland

PLASTER WORKS

As a seasonal house artist 2022 - 2023, I created
14 visual responses to every concert program ofB’Rock Orchestra.
https://b-rock.org/team/clara-spilliaert/

Adventurers (2022), plaster with watercolor, 24,5x31x2 cmMadrigals (2022), plaster with watercolor, 24,5x31x2 cm

Antwerp Requiem (2022), plaster with watercolor, 24,5x31x2 cm

Bach & Pergolesi (2023), plaster with watercolor, 24,5x31x2 cm

VIDEO WORKSA still from Hotel Red Shoes (2013), 15”02’

This first video work in collaboration withmy sister Lisa Spilliaert is about a doubletransition. On the one hand, the cultural
reorientation from Japan to Belgium and, on
the other hand, the transition from child toadolescent, with reference to the advent ofsexual awareness. The emotional intencity ofleaving a certain place or state is transcended
by the ritual gestures of singing, cutting andburning.

Stills from Hotel Red Shoes (2013), 15”02’

A still from De Zeven Natuurwonderen (2019), 03”19’

In this short stop-motion film without sound,
I experiment with plant elements that arebrought to life to tell mysterious, animisticstories.
https://vimeo.com/373484431

Stills from De Zeven Natuurwonderen (2019), 03”19’

PUBLICATION

In 2022, a book “SEKIRARA” was published byBorgerhoff & Lamberigts with a selection of 240
drawings from more than 4,500 drawings madebetween 2009 and 2017. Graphic designed byStudio Luc Derycke, with an introductory poemby Delphine Lecompte.
https://www.borgerhoff-lamberigts.be/mer/shop/
books/sekiraraPublication SEKIRARA (2022)
MER. Studio Luc Derycke / Borgerhoff & Lamberigts

Publication SEKIRARA (2022)
MER. Studio Luc Derycke / Borgerhoff & Lamberigts

Publication SEKIRARA (2022)
MER. Studio Luc Derycke / Borgerhoff & Lamberigts

CV

Clara Spilliaert°1993, Tokyo

Contact
info@claraspilliaert.com
https://claraspilliaert.com/
https://www.instagram.com/claraspilliaert/
Education
2018-2021
Credit Visual Arts, Glass and Ceramics
LUCA School of Arts, Ghent2014-2015
MA Visual Arts, Fine Arts
LUCA School of Arts, Ghent
2011-2014
BA Visual Arts, Graphics and Drawings
LUCA School of Arts, Ghent

Exibitions
2024 Looking for Clues, Stedelijk Museum Aarschot, BE
2023 Freedom Hospital #2, HuisHenkVisch, Eindhoven, NL
2023 Hairy Tale (solo), Lichtekooi Artspace, Antwerp, BE
2023 Paper Cuts, Keteleer Gallery, Antwerp, BE
2023 Installation at Courtisane Film Festival, Ghent, BE
2022 History of the Future, NEST Stadslab, Damme, BE
2022 The Thinking Hand, Tatjana Pieters, Ghent, BE
2022 Clara Sekirara (solo), Contemporary Art Foundation, Tokyo, JP
2022 Window project & Book launch, LLS Paleis, Antwerp, BE
2021 Rising Stars, Ginza ATRIUM, Tokyo, JP
2021 Beauty and the Beast, CC Scharpoord, Knokke-Heist/Duinbergen, BE
2021 Publiek Park, Vrienden v/h S.M.A.K., Citadelpark Ghent, BE
2020 CAF Award 2020, Contemporary Art Foundation, Tokyo, JP
2020 Condition Report, Vandenhove Centre for Achitecture and Art, Ghent, BE
2019 Moving Word, Art Cinema OFFoff, Ghent, BE
2016 Image Forum Festival, Theater Image Forum/Kyoto Art Center, Tokyo/Kyoto, JP
2016 Atlantis na Plato, Croxhapox, Ghent, BE2015 Shame, Museum Dr. Guislain, Ghent, BE2015 Jonge Kunstenaars 2015, Sint-Lukasgalerie, Brussels, BE.
2015 Rotterdam International Film Festival, Rotterdam, NL
2014 West-Flanders Art Prize, Be-Part, Waregem, BE2014 Dark Chambers, Museum Dr. Guislain, Ghent, BEPrizes
2023 Prix Fintro Prijs 2023, Category Visual Arts, First Prize, BE2020 Contemporary Art Foundation, CAF Award 2020, Grand Prize, JP
Comissioned
2023/25 Public art project Plukladder, Vlaamse Bouwmeester, BE2022/23 Public art project 1000 bakstenen, City of Kruibeke, BE2022/23 House Artist of B’Rock Orchestra, BE2018 Public mural project MUREN, City of Geraardsbergen, BE