Following fieldwork at the mine, the artist built a ceramic ball mill and milling jars to grind 300 kilo of feldspar sand into powder throughout the exhibition. Through collective milling, visitors become part of an encounter between mineral, machine and human action. The exhibition reveals the site-specific histories and properties of a mineral often encountered only in processed forms.
Unmaking Stones continues an exploration of feldspar, extraction and the hidden material histories embedded in ceramic materials. The work builds on field trips to the former Forshammar feldspar mine in Sweden, including research, writing and the exhibition ”Unearthing Sedimented Memories” (2025). These investigations centred on the relationship between geological formations, mining practices and ceramic production.
Although feldspar is one of the most abundant mineral groups on Earth, it is rarely encountered in its original form. Omnipresent in porcelain, glass, ceramic glazes, filler in paints and many other everyday materials, feldspar has become an invisible component of our built environment. Within the ceramic practice it is usually encountered only after transformation, as a processed powder used in clay bodies, porcelain and glazes. Through extraction and production, the geological origins of the mineral often become distant from our everyday encounters with it.
Marilen Rauch
Marilen Rauch is a visual artist working in the expanded field of ceramic art. Her practice lies at the intersection of site-specific ceramic installation, sound and performative art. She creates dialogues and explorative synergies between landscapes, their materials, and the transformations they undergo. Working primarily with local, self-extracted clay, ceramic minerals such as feldspar and field recordings, she investigates how geological processes, extraction and human intervention shape our relationship to place through sensory and material approaches. Her practice explores how material processes can be documented and remembered beyond the fired ceramic object, expanding our perception of the environments and materials that constitute the ground we stand on. She is interested in the ephemeral states of extractive landscapes, examining their material and immaterial properties. Her work takes the form of sculptures, site-responsive installations and collaborative projects, including Tontouristen Kollektiv.
Free entry.
