Traces of the Unspoken
Moj Habibi – 2024
Oxidation-fired earthenware | Terracotta and No.37 clay
170 cm x 140 cm

Made of hand-built ceramic wall pieces, Traces of the Unspoken holds quiet stories within its surface. My work is deeply rooted in land, memory, and transformation, shaped by my journey as an artist and the landscapes that have embraced me. As an Iranian-born artist now working in Moree, NSW, I feel a profound connection between the land of my origins and the land that now holds my creative practice. The Mehi River in Moree is more than just a physical space; it carries stories, histories, and the quiet pulse of time, much like the ancient rivers that have shaped cultures across the world.

In my practice, I create landscape-inspired clay slabs, embedding organic materials such as tree bark, seeds from the Mehi River, and natural mud. These materials allow the earth itself to leave its mark, forming a direct imprint of place and time. The river, as both a witness and a keeper of stories, shapes my work. Water shapes the land and leaves behind textures, layers, and memory. By pressing these elements into the raw surfaces of my ceramic slabs, I allow the landscape to inscribe its own presence, creating works that hold both physical textures and unseen histories.

As someone who has lived between cultures, I see rivers as bridges between worlds. They carry whispers of the past while continuously moving forward. The Mehi River, with its deep cultural significance and spiritual presence, mirrors the sense of sacred connection I feel to the land. Just as my work speaks of resilience, impermanence, and renewal, the river’s flow reminds me of the cycles of displacement and belonging. Water, like identity, cannot be contained. It is always finding new paths.

By layering earth, organic textures, and fire, I reflect the cycles of wear, change, and regrowth that define both the natural world and human existence. The clay slabs absorb the memory of the land. The fire solidifies these imprints, and the final forms stand as landscapes of time and experience. Unlike traditional ceramic vessels that hold and contain, these open, textured surfaces invite a dialogue between light and shadow, presence and absence. They symbolise the movement of time and the unseen forces that shape us.

Clay, as an elemental force of the earth, carries the memory of touch, fire, and transformation. It becomes a metaphor for the human soul’s journey through trials and renewal. Through these works, I invite the viewer to engage with the surface of the land itself, to trace its imprints, and to reflect on the deep and enduring relationship between humans and the environment. Even in fragmentation, there is wholeness. In change, there is possibility.