Sandra Val

All my work is rooted in the study of the origins, traditions, and history of crafts related to ceramics and Nasrid culture. This connects with my own autobiographical character—my childhood in Triana, Seville’s quintessential pottery district and one of the territories with the richest cultural heritage in Spain. The history and culture of these crafts allow me to offer my own vision within the field of contemporary art.

My practice emerges from a liminal state where fragments of tradition, present, and future converge. I develop a series of investigations focused on constructing imaginaries that address themes of utopia and timelessness—scenarios that I myself transmute and redefine, creating narratives and new dialogues that speak to us about time and space.

In my work I use a variety of materials—porcelain, metal, textile, or glass, among others—to generate pieces that move between the recognizable and the abject. Architectural spaces associated with sites of worship and power serve as inspiration for my installations and site-specific works. It is a broad symbolic universe that shifts between physical reality and virtual spaces.

The use of porcelain carries a strong presence within both domestic and industrial realms, considering its role in everyday life as well as in space exploration. The sculptural pieces connect with elements that, in their synthesis, relate to the playful: they recall boards for games and strategy. These sculptural forms, accompanied by tiled floors, function as a situational map. They propose a simulation in which the viewer can play at assessing—from greater to lesser—the hierarchy of power of each piece, its meaning, and even its function within the landscape.