Memory, clay and earthy wisdom

hube: Topography of Memory explores the relationship we, as humans, have with our recollections. How did this concept originate, and what inspired you to scour through this intersection of erosion themes in your work?

Sallisa Rosa: I was inspired to work with memory by my grandma, whose name is América because she was born on October 12. My grandma is a core figure in bringing together the threads that make up my family’s history but her memory is fading. This inspired me to create extracorporeal ways of storing memory.

h: Collaborating with communities seems to be a central aspect of your artistic practice. How do these collaborations influence your work, especially in the context of exploring human connection to the earth? How was it working with Thiago and Audemars Piguet Contemporary? 

SR: I am interested in collective ways of remembering, and, with this installation, I have created a contemplative space that can act as a repository for memories. To me, the earth is the place of memory.

Working with collected clay, I’ve also met and collaborated with other artisans. We are a kind of community that sometimes works together for a few months at a time. We share different clays and our processes as a group.

I also collaborated with Thiago de Paula Souza and the curatorial team at Audemars Piguet Contemporary who supported my vision for this commission, acting both as soundboards to help me articulate and refine my ideas for this work as well as stewards for the presentations in Miami and next in São Paulo.

h: As someone who works across various mediums that are capable of memorializing, would you say you have a favorite one or one that you find particularly challenging yet rewarding? How did your artistic journey lead you to use ceramics? 

SR: Ceramics pose their own challenges — sometimes objects break in the kiln or transportation — but memory is also fragile.

I believe ceramics have a symbolic capacity to store memory which can help us remember. Because I only use collected clay, the material itself already has a rich history and information stored within it.

h: Your focus on the reprogramming of memory is intriguing. Can you elaborate on how you approach this concept in your installation, and what kind of emotional or intellectual responses are you hoping to evoke in the audience?

SR: While shaping the clay for Topography of Memory, I encoded memories into each piece, turning them into extracorporeal memories. They are coiled ceramics and I think of the act of making them — in my movement as I work with the clay — as a process of transferring my memories into the material.  People can move through the installation, and I intend this movement to activate collective memory. What does the Earth remind us of?

h: The use of traditional knowledge is evident in your choice of materials and techniques. How do you balance tradition with innovation in your artistic process, and what challenges or breakthroughs have you experienced in this regard? How do you see your work contributing to the preservation of cultural practices and knowledge in the face of modernization?

SR: Topography of Memory is made entirely of collected clay and sculpted using a coiling process by hand. Each sculpture was fired in a traditional kiln kept at 800 degrees Celsius and fed with branches.

The installation is in a way a fictional landscape that is not figurative but rather abstract, through a creation that uses tradition, mixing traditional technologies to create possibilities for the future. I think remembering is one of the most important technologies

h: The connection between the erosion of the earth and memory is a powerful metaphor. How do you see your work contributing to conversations around environmental awareness and the impact of human activity on the planet?

SR: When an artist creates, it’s sometimes difficult to predict how people will be impacted because it’s something we really have no control over, and I get emotional when people make interpretations that I wasn’t even aware of.

I think that the Topography of Memory is an installation that somehow redesigns the world. It is sculptured in a pattern of structures that connect us with the interior of the earth and the exterior of the cosmos. It is a work that is not individual; it is a group of works with more than a hundred sculptures. That makes it whole. I believe that thinking in groups can help us make the Earth a part of us.

h: Your installation was on view in Miami Beach and is going to take place in São Paulo. Do you anticipate any differences in the way audiences from these two locations might perceive or interpret Topography of Memory, considering the cultural and environmental contexts?

SR: I am excited for the installation to be displayed at the Pinacoteca de São Paulo, an institution that has been collecting work by Brazilian artists for a long time. The installation of the sculptures will also be different than in Miami because the layout of the space is different. It is very special for me to have my work on view for Brazilian audiences.

The installation deals with the collective memory loss of the Americas, and I think it’s significant that the installation is traveling throughout the Americas as part of its own path — from Rio to Miami and then to São Paulo.

h: Reflecting on your career thus far, are there any mentors or artists who have significantly influenced your artistic approach or provided guidance along the way? How have these influences shaped your perspective?

SR: There are many artists who inspire me in one way or another. Ventura Profana and Denilson Baniwa are two that stand out.

But there are also many people in my personal life who do not consider themselves artists and who are fundamental for me to consider my artistic practice as a way of life, like my family and especially my grandmother, America.

h: Looking ahead, what are your aspirations for the future? Are there specific projects, collaborations, or themes that you are excited to delve into in the next phase of your career?

SR: I am currently in Amsterdam attending the Rijksakademie artist residency. I think it’s a challenge to leave my place and my context, and be far from my references. On the other hand, being here gives me the opportunity to create other strategies, and this is something I’m discovering in the adaptation process. This has been inspiring and will have an impact on my artistic practice.