These handcrafted tiles, designed for the Gönhard School in Aarau, feature geometrical ornaments, which are the result of repeating digitally developed graphic patterns and are fired using an ancient Japanese firing technique. The basis of the tiles is a combination of different clays and loam. Mixed in the workshop with quartz sand and fireclay, the mass is then pressed into the tile form and precisely reshaped by hand. Through a silkscreen process the basic material now acquires form. The glaze impresses rhythmical symbols in the tiles.
The ceramic tile is hardened at a temperature of 1000°C within a short time. Through the low temperature firing the material becomes more porous. The glowing tiles are taken one by one from the kiln using a tongs and immediately buried in sawdust. The process of denying the tile oxygen and the ensuing smoke have an intensive effect on the surface that differs every time: the colour changes according to the glaze and the fine hair cracks are blackened.
TaOk enables tiles to become freestanding objects in the game of dimensions. The basic ideas are a rounded square and petal-shaped cut-outs, which are staggered and superimposed in two planes, so as to reveal each other – an effect that is further heightened by different glazes. The thickness of the clay object allows TaOk to be placed free-standing in space – either as a wall cladding or a partition – and plays with light, position and the surroundings.
Sensorial
Technical
Environmental
