Toronto

ARKADIUSZ SZWED

More than porcelain itself, I am interested in the process of working with the material. Porcelain is the medium I ultimately cast into form, but before that form can exist, I need to construct a model.

My approach to modelling moves beyond traditional techniques. I work with an elastic membrane filled with small spheres, creating an unstable, pressure-responsive structure. As I build the plaster mould, these elements shift under its weight, meaning the final outcome is never fully predictable. In this sense, I am not designing a fixed object, but rather a process. The finished form becomes a record of that process, while porcelain — a material historically associated with perfection and control — carries the tension between intention and inevitability.

This tension is what makes porcelain relevant to me now. It is demanding, often resistant, and never entirely yields to control. At the same time, it carries strong cultural expectations. Working with it allows me to shift these associations — both in terms of form and process. I am increasingly interested in testing the boundaries of what working with porcelain can mean, and where control ends and the material’s own autonomy begins.