Sylvie Godel

JELO6 PROJECT AWARD @ AUTOR FAIR 2025

Artist Statement

The collection Lots of Tears is a reflection on a difficult chapter of my life. A burnout led me into an eleven-month depression, during which I cried almost every day.

What to do with all these tears? Let them flow? Wipe them away with a handkerchief? Or turn them into something else?

Searching – Observing – Collecting – Sleeping – Shaping – Listening – Embodying – Materializing – Defining -Speaking -Reading - Writing - Walking - Stitching Thinking - Imagining - Caring - Letting it come - Documenting

Over time, the restless water crystallized into pearls of Bone China—the whitest, most noble of porcelains. A process of recovery, yet one that preserves the imprint of sorrow through a collection of bodily artifacts: sculptural and functional necklaces and brooches in clay, complemented by perforated paper handkerchiefs and cotton ribbons embroidered with expressions on tears.

Curriculum Vitae

Sylvie Godel lives and works in Lausanne, Switzerland. Since 2004, following a BFA in Ceramics from HEAD (Geneva), her work has been exhibited in museums, galleries, and design boutiques. She holds a Master in Visual Arts (ÉDHÉA, 2022) focusing on art in public spaces, and her practice explores relational art and writing, materializing words through clay and thread. Her work is included in the collection of mudac (Musée cantonal de design et d’arts appliqués contemporains). Additionally, she holds a CAS in Cultural Studies from the University of Neuchâtel (2023) and curates Le Salon de Sylvie, an alternative art space in Lausanne.

Title: Lots Of Tears

Kind: Installation

Materials: Perforated Paper, Porcelain Necklaces, Cotton Ribbons embroidered with Silk Thread