Gyeonggi Ceramics Biennale 2026

William Cobbing brings together moving images and unfired clay in what he describes as a “collision between video and clay.” For Cobbing, clay is never a material that can be fully controlled. It responds to contact with the body, becoming pressed and distorted, sagging under its own weight, and continually changing shape as the artist and the material shape one another.

The first work you encounter is Obsidian Tomb. Look at the enormous clay hand gripping a mirror that resembles the screen of a smartphone. Clay also wraps around the edges of the mirror. Stand in front of it and you’ll see your own reflection, suddenly seeming to become a figure caught in the grasp of the giant hand.

In the room to the left, you’ll find Eye Fall. Cobbing entered the massive clay head and carved away the eye area, filling the opening with moving images of hands touching clay, along with views of the sky and rippling water. Look into the space where the eyes once were. By removing the eyes, the work paradoxically opens up a new way of seeing.

On the opposite wall, Terra Cave brings your own body into the experience. Adults have to bend down, while children step onto a platform to see the screen inside. The moment you adjust your posture to view the work, looking becomes more than a visual act—it becomes a physical experience.

Behind these works, three performance videos continue the exploration. On screen, clay is pressed and pushed by hands and bodies, constantly changing shape. Notice the wet, tactile surfaces, the weight of the clay, the sounds of it being kneaded, and the repeated movements of the body. Although you are watching a video, the experience can feel almost as if you were touching the clay yourself.

As you stand before the mirror, peer into the space where the eyes once were, lower your body, watch the clay move, and listen to its sounds on screen, clay becomes more than something to look at. It emerges as a living material experienced through the whole body.