Picnic with the Wolf (2019) Glazed ceramics and wildflowers on padded tablecloth, 100 x 70 x 30 cm, Like a Little Disaster Gallery

Despite her young age, Naomi Gilon has a dense history of experimentation that stretches to all mediums and materials. Initially influenced by the world of tuning, the Brussels based artist now brings this world to ceramics and creates pieces that are close to have a life of their own.

Recently opening an online shop selling some of her ‘monstrous’ creations in the shape of utilitarian objects, Naomi challenges the way we view and consume artworks. In our conversation we explore the role of the artist, the intention and responsibility she puts in her pieces, as well as her fascination for science fiction and the influence of pop culture in her work.

The Snake’s Head (2018) Ceramic, expansive polyurethane foam and fur, Head: 30 x 19 x 27 cm & Body: 300 cm — for the exhibition RSVP, curated by Gallery Cdlt+ 2019

When I first got to know your work in 2018, you were doing installations with found objects — a lot of them with car parts that you manipulated by covering with fur or with graffiti and tattoos. Nowadays, your practice seems to have moved from manipulating existing objects to creating your own from scratch, like it is the case with your ceramic hands. Can you talk a little about this development in your practice in the last three years?

It’s clear that the discovery of ceramics has greatly changed my work as an artist. In two years, my words have been refined but the source of my questions has remained the same; Popular culture quite aptly encompasses my artistic concerns, whether those of 2018 or today’s.

When I started my work, I was mainly interested in the tuning industry. I appropriated pieces of automobile bodywork to which I applied a transformation by covering them with textiles, patterns, etc. That’s when I started to define a process of object hybridisation.

Today, in 2021, I keep this working method but my questions have evolved. On the one hand, learning ceramics allowed me to no longer be in a system of appropriation of forms but of creation. I have control over the material from start to finish (despite the magic of ceramics). From the beginning, I saw those car bodies that pleased me at first in the brilliant colourations of enamels. Ceramic is a medium that sublimates my imagination.

But beyond that, it’s clear that the monstrous has completely invaded my work. After exploring the world of tuning I became interested in the one of science fiction. I have rediscovered the image of the monster: he’s a being who fascinates me by endorsing all the vices of humanity. My recent works, such as ‘Picnic with the Wolf, question what scares humans the most — their own nature. I borrow figures from mythological writings, tales, folk tales and also, of course, cinema, who take on this role in order to give birth to chimerical objects, such as Victor Frankenstein was able to do.

You have shown in innovative spaces before and you have also worked in situ, but even if you are exhibiting in a gallery context you seem to find ways to incorporate the surrounding space in your work. How do you see the role of the spaces you exhibit in relation to your pieces?

It’s true that I attach great importance to the spaces in which I exhibit. In general, I develop my works according to the place where they’ll be presented. For example, for the ‘RSVP’ exhibition at Cdlt + in 2019, I worked with the recessed table in the space. I didn't want it to be just there for the viewer to circle around it, so I made a snake and I placed at its end.

Or when I don’t have the opportunity to design a specific work, I like to think about creating a dialogue between the work and the space through installations which revisit the status of the base. In my installation ‘Survivors’ presented at Like a Little Disaster gallery in 2019, my ceramic pieces were found emerging from a pile of soil, which itself is embedded in the gallery. The soil creates a parallel between the inside and the outside.

The spaces that have a connotation are my favourites (commercial windows, industrial spaces, etc.). The way of thinking about hanging reaches a higher dimension; there is nothing more than our work. We have to find a balance; learn to play with the strengths of the place and/or with its drawbacks. There is a reflection about our works. It's like writing a script where each party must have its place in order to make sense of the story that the public will see in the end.

Overview of the installation Survivors (2019) Glazed ceramics on soil, 400 x 190 x 49 cm — for the exhibition Imbroglio (or the ability to incorporate possibilities), curated by Like a Little Disaster

It is interesting that you mention scripts as a metaphor for the way you create your installations because your pieces have a very strong narrative quality, even without having any text or video alongside them. Does writing play a part in your practice?

Each of my works is an actor in the fiction that I create. Part of the story that I develop over time happens mentally; Honestly, I write very little, often bits of thought. But going through writing is still important for me because it allows me to clarify my ideas and find the key words in my approach. Each piece has its own story — its personal one and the one I give it (creative process and artist's approach).

Detail of the installation Survivors (2019) Glazed ceramic on soil

It must also be said that my reading greatly influences the way I conceive the construction of my projects. Crash! by J.G. Ballard, Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, Venus in Furs by Leopold von Sacher-Masoch and Ubik by Philip K. Dick are examples of novels that contribute to the artist that I am, to the style and atmosphere that we find in my work.

BAG1(2020), Earthenware ceramics, 25.5 x 9 x 39 cm

I’m not very comfortable with the design of handwritten stories, but I think I can better master ‘plastic stories’ — a work is an open book whose reading is subjective depending on who looks at it and how. The interpretations are not set in stone, that's what is wonderful in the arts. The individuality of each participates in the regeneration of the work.

Earlier you mentioned the role of pop culture in your work as well. What particular themes inspire you in it and how do you connect it to the world of science fiction?

My selection of themes from popular culture is not static. The things that concern me change enormously over time. I have already approached the world of tuning, which allowed me to question the process of personalising objects. Then, thanks to tuning, I got interested in the world of tattooing/piercing which is an extension of this notion of personalisation (of the body).

In parallel, all the imagery associated with these two worlds made me rediscover horror and gore films. They question the idea of the hybrid body and its anatomy. The technical aspect of creating movies in the 60’s also challenged me a lot; scenography, costumes, makeup, etc. Automatically, I arrived in the field of mythology, both Greek, Celtic and Nordic, which guided me in the story of creation and chimera construction.

View of the work Sneakers (2019) Earthenware ceramics, 70 x 80 x 30 cm (installation of 2 shoes). Presented during the group exhibition Int/Ext, curated by Jérémy Bobel for ENCORE Brussels gallery (by Alice Gallery)

Now, I’m immersed in the world of fashion by exploiting categories of objects; as with my new creation ‘BAG' or my series of shoes ‘Pas Courant’. These monstrous ceramic shoes analyse the role of the shoe from a historical point of view. Initially, it was an ornament intended to represent social status and for many years it was a symbol of suffering.

LOUBOUTIN (2020) Earthenware ceramics, 31 x 21 x 30 cm (1 shoe)

So, if we take the definition of the term pop culture; It brings together all forms of culture produced and appreciated by the greatest number, which makes science fiction completely a part of it. I approach this environment sociologically and it’s in this sense that it dialogues with the other categories that are part of my work. The characteristic I love most about SF is that it was born to provide a ‘new frontier’ to people; Beyond past and present.

The SF story was developed as a ‘thought experiment’ logically extrapolating the consequences of possible innovations. In addition, it reflects the social representations of an era. SF literature has the capacity to contribute to the invention of these representations, but also to modify them. It puts social fears and desires into narratives, words and images. This literature allows societies to reflect on themselves and what they generate. The aim of my artistic works is to produce this same type of reflection but in the form of anthropomorphic objects.

Recently, you started an online shop where you sell some of your creations but with utilitarian purposes, like ashtrays, candle holders and cups, to name a few of them. Is the shop a way to explore the pop culture concept that motivates your practice and a way to reach a larger audience?

It's true that opening an online store is a good way to blend in with the idea of popular culture. The status of the work is completely uninhibited and accessible to all. Always with the same approach, I revisit everyday objects (dishes, flower pots, candlesticks, etc.). This makes it easier to integrate the artwork into one’s home. It goes beyond its contemplative aspect. In addition, I charge prices that are really not excessive for unique pieces. I’m aware of this, but I believe that the promotion of my work is done first in a spirit of sharing and wide dissemination. It’s the feeling of the person who looks at one of my pieces that will give it its real value.

I want to be able to be part of all kind of art collections; from those of the popular class to those of the upper bourgeoisie. I still make a distinction between my two types of work: there are my series of small productions that can be found on my site and my more substantial creations in which I elaborate all my thoughts. I like to alternate between the two, not being immersed in the same thing all the time. When we make ceramics we want to touch everything.

Small monstrous flowerpot (2020) Sandstone,19 x 17 cm, diameter 12.5 cm

Have you got any new materials in mind you want to work with in the future?

Glass ! Obviously!

I like the technical aspect of the medium. It's like ceramics, there is a link between the two: there’s also a stage of mysterious transformation. I love that I can't control everything and be surprised by the material.

Actually, I have already started a new project that mixes glass and ceramics which will be released this spring 2021, normally.