Fornelo, Portugal — ORTO Residency

Created during my time at the ORTO Residency, this work continues my exploration of fragility, transformation, and the quiet tension between permanence and loss. In the countryside, I performed a simple, irreversible gesture: breaking ceramic tiles with stones. Each fracture marked a moment that could not be undone. The tiles, once shaped by heat into something strong, returned to vulnerability. The act became a way of thinking through time and how all forms, no matter how carefully made, carry their own eventual undoing. The installation spoke of decay not as disappearance, but as transition.

Deep thanks to Debe Arlook for lending her calming voice to the work, and for the grounding conversations that became part of its texture. Grateful for this place, people, and for giving the piece this space to listen to explore breaking can reveal.