Words Unspoken
Language is a convenient—but often imprecise—filter for expressing feelings. In Sanskrit, there are more than 30 words to describe enlightenment, while English has only a handful. Many emotions and inner states remain unspoken or unexpressed, hidden in the shadows of language. Without a clear or convenient way to articulate them, they are often left unattended—yet these quiet, unnamed feelings are just as powerful and essential as the ones that rise more easily to the surface.
This sculpture seeks to explore the feelings that remain unspoken. Handbuilt through an unplanned coiling process, it was created by entering a state of flow—where thought gives way to intuition. With intention set, I allowed deep human desires and emotions to surface and shape the form, letting the clay speak what words often cannot.
Much like the creases and folds of our inner world, nature mirrors these depths through gorges and valleys. While hiking in my homeland, I’m often drawn to the shadowy parts of the mountain—places too hidden or inaccessible for humans to enter. These quiet, mysterious spaces evoke a feminine presence in the landscape—receptive, concealed, and endlessly captivating to my curiosity.
This sculpture seeks to embody the dual nature of the unspoken. Like our deepest feelings, there are ephemeral qualities and natural spirits that move through the world—present, yet beyond description. Much like the Tao, which cannot be named yet permeates all things. As water is to fish, so is the Tao to us: invisible, essential, and ever-present.
“The Tao that can be spoken is not the eternal Tao.
The name that can be named is not the eternal name.” - Tao Te Ching
