Unlearning Judgement and Informing Perception
I discovered a dusty box of 7 old ceramic tiles in the bottom left corner of a cupboard, neglected and no longer needed. They were covered in webs and tucked deeply away. I held onto them with no real understanding as to why, no intention or plan, but something about them inspired me.
Using dry watercolour paints I began to play with my love for merging, blotting and blending colours, watching how they fused on the tile surface. I was immersed in the process of taking each one and experimenting with textures and tones, slowly forming a small collection. But as it grew and I reviewed my work, I noticed a shift in my mindset.
I began to compare them to one another, not from a place of innocent observation, but from a point of hypercritical judgment. Each piece had to be as good as, if not better than, the previous, and if better, then previous pieces had to be improved.
I found myself fall into the cycle of wiping away and restarting the process in an attempt to find perfection and uniformity between them. Colour saturation and variation needed to be consistent, refining each tile until it fit into the group. Eventually, the chase for perfection wore away at my creative motivation. I decided to take a step back from the set completely, and revisit them later.
When I returned however, I picked up each tile and closely examined it. I took a moment and began to notice the complexity in its details, slowly discovering the charm in its individuality. Each one had its own unique intricacies and compositions, and I came to appreciate each piece as it was, to accept it and to unlearn the often heedless superficiality of judgement.
Not only was my perception of a small dusty set of forgotten ceramic tiles transformed, but I experienced the reality that sometimes the careless and often subconscious judgement and biases we have can hinder us in perceiving the world through curious eyes.
Letting Go A Little 