Interpreting the mythological being of the Anka through an abstract bird form, this work focuses on the moment of ascent that follows rebirth, with its long, upward-reaching body. The contrast between the broad surface evoking a wing and the slender, curving neck gives the form a sense of both stillness and movement. The green and shimmering tones emerging on the dark metallic surface evoke the Anka passing through fire and becoming another existence. Anka II symbolises regaining strength after transformation and life rising out of darkness.
Taking the rebirth narrative of the mythological Anka (phoenix) as its starting point, the Anka Series explores the traces of transformation and memory through ceramic form. In the series the Anka moves away from its traditional depictions and becomes pared down; body, wing, neck and tail at times merge into a single fluid form, at times break apart and multiply, opening out into space.
Each sculpture is like a different state of the same being. The reds of fire, dark metallic surfaces and earthy browns represent the different thresholds between disappearance and renewed existence. The cracks, colour transitions and firing marks left on the ceramic surface are not hidden; instead they become part of the form as the memory of transformation.
In this series, therefore, rebirth does not mean the complete erasure of the past. With each transformation the Anka carries traces of its previous existence. It breaks, changes, takes shape again and rises.
Rather than a fresh start, the Anka Series is the story of becoming another existence while carrying the traces of the past.