El viaje de la oruga: transformación alquímica de la materia

Abstract

This research-creation project, entitled El viaje de la oruga: transformación alquímica de la materia (The Caterpillar's Journey: Alchemical Transformation of Matter), stems from an interest in exploring matter through the formulation of ceramic glazes and alternative firing techniques. This interest in exploration seeks to highlight the processes of transformation present in ceramics, linked to alchemy, through the interplay of colors, textures, and volumes that matter offers in its transformation. This research seeks to connect alchemy from a technical approach with a spiritual perspective, which is related to the production of plastic art, individual and collective practices. This is done from an experimental and experiential perspective through practical laboratories. The purpose of this project is to reflect on ceramic transformation through experimentation with raw materials, focusing on the physical change that occurs in this type of finish, which gives rise to aesthetic and spiritual experiences. This process of “transmutation” of matter is associated with the process of “metamorphosis” of the caterpillar, which, like ceramics, goes through different stages of transformation: from the egg as the initial stage to becoming a butterfly. In this way, a symbolic parallel is established with ceramics and its physical changes throughout the process. The alchemical transformation from clay to ceramics becomes a symbolic equivalent of the transition from caterpillar to butterfly. The project thus seeks to account for the cycles of transformation of matter.