Julia Haft-Candell

Infinity: Grid, (2017), Ceramic, 15 x 23 x 5 in.

The Infinite is a body of work centered around the idea of an invented alternate dimension in which a vocabulary of forms expresses an ideology about gender, intuition, and experience. In addition to the ceramic sculptures, I’ve created a glossary of terms and symbols, a text that describes the personal and political symbolism of each form and hieroglyph on display. In the Infinite: Glossary of Terms and Symbols, I’ve defined the Infinity as follows:

The Infinity is a symbol of masculine and feminine, embodying the movement of the Dash or phallus, a forward, thrusting action, which then turns into a loop, or a torus, an opening, a space, the female. Thus, these shapes symbolize the simultaneous existence of all genders. A shape can turn more masculine or more feminine depending on the circumstance. As in the concept of hermaphroditic organisms, each shape can ‘act’ as male or female as a way to enhance survival. Depending on perspective, bending or warping, the Infinity can resemble the Torus or the Dash. It is important that the shape can mutate as necessary, from masculine to feminine, to in-between. Its definition is not fixed, but constantly changing and multiple, embodied in one concept.