Due to the fractal system, joining materials is not always possible in the small scales. Therefore I abandon the traditional forms, defined by closed clay walls, and seek to create loose connections between walls. I assumed clay was happy with the fractal-based and loose system of connections. Its lamellae are free to slide, and there is room for structural movement.
The self-similar system of clay crystals, the emergence of chance mutations makes it evident that I can use the inner structure of clay as my model. Therefore I am trying to create “free fractals of the order of organisation in clay crystals and the DNA molecule”. “Fractalising clay crystals” has led to the creation of hexagonal systems. Contraposed zigzag clay coils have been connected into a continuously growing wall. It was during the even distribution of nodes that I realised that there are nearly innumerable paths in a three-dimensional fractal system. I have yet to explore these variations.
Chaotic systems are sensitive to starting conditions. Therefore I abandoned the flat starting plane. If the starting position is a three-dimensional curve, spatial proportions can be preserved despite the repetition, planes will tilt depending on the original position, and after a sufficient number of repetitions, the self-similar units will be symmetric across the various scales of size.
The unity of the human body spans across various scales of size, and uses the structural basis of the fractal approach, namely branching, to reach across the entire system. I used the human body as my model when implementing the rhythm of changing sizes in self-similar units, and branching in my works. In addition to vertical shapes, I am trying to use networks that can expand in any direction in space. I am seeking the solutions that result in an infinite series, which may cease to exist through the mutation of shape. In the “Gil-galad” series, I managed to create networks of distribution systems from a central core.
The claim made by A. G. Cairns-Smith that clay minerals may have cradled life, motivated me to “try” porcelain in a double helix. If it does not fall apart, the assumed relationship may just be true. These works include the hexagonal structures comprising porcelain coil spirals (Helix series). It never ceases to amaze me when these simple repetitions assume fundamentally organic shapes.
Chaos theory has changed my perspective and works. I have understood that clay reacts well to instability because it is unstable itself. I realised that self-similar systems and structural repetitions may reduce drying and burning problems to the minimum by minimising the energy tension present in the material.
Clay is a dynamic material, as its lamella structure and the water locked within keep it in motion. This moves and rearranges during drying and burning, too. The key to non-linear dynamics is the fractal structure. It seems evident that these two should be coupled. Self-similarity has a universal effect. The ability to view the entire picture. The scientific recognition of this fact leads, paradoxically, to the naive concept of self-similarity, which characterised primitive cultures. Harmonic balance between order and disorder creates a sense of beauty in humans as expressed in natural objects. These have the shapes of frozen dynamics, an idiosyncratic mixture of order and disorder.
There are also invisible forms in nature – the hidden shapes of the structure of motion. I would like to explore these for myself. As for clay, I assume that the optimum sense of material demands shapes that have optimum distribution of energy. Either the object allows for the open flow of energy, or the paths are in a state of balance.
The crystalline structure and water content of clay affect the shapes that can be assumed, and this is why clay enjoys the forms of the “living world”.
I believe clay has a “memory” that leads it back to shapes similar to the original crystal structure. Therefore, although at a different level, it can return to the “starting position”, the bumpy and creased state that it experienced at its creation.
The structure of grains of clay is a unit that has to be replicated. The ability of clay to remember is a kind of finger-post pointing at certain shapes, defining the possible shapes that are capable of survival and development.
Füzesi Heierli Zsuzsa