Nicole Beck
At the beginning of my working process, structures and patterns are etched in metal, mainly in copper. Afterwards I build metal containers, which I mostly inflate by creating a vacuum. This process is very intuitive and the body volume of the metal containers differ from relatively flat to extremely inflated. Thereafter I enamel the hollow bodies and sand the color down again until it´s nearly dissolved. Often this part of the process is done several times by applying new color tones and sanding them off again. This happens repeatedly until the moment of satisfaction is reached.
The constant questioning of the materiality of the metal in combination with the enamel becomes a game to the limit of possible, which fascinates me since a while. The technical challenge in this intuitive process, how far can I inflate the metal and strain the enamel, constantly spreads new stimuli. Due to the technical approach, the finished work piece is absolutely unique and cannot be repeated.
As a result of my previous works, which are inspired by old family photos, the focus of my current work lays on playing with the surface and the clear, reduced external shape of the individual elements. The etched copper as the carrier material also provides color surprises in the intuitive interplay of the materials and the technical process.
The playful assembly of the built bodies respectively containers resembles the child`s threading of pearls and the playful discovery of three dimensionality, similar to playing with building blocks. The grabbing and grasping is addressed in the most original form. In our fast-paced society, we are exposed to constant overstimulation and often lose touch with the simple and playful things.
When I break away from the absolute perfection of the geometric form at the workbench, the implementation becomes a free and informal playground for various possibilities in surface, color and mindset.
