GraffitiStreet

You created 3D wire and paper-mâché sculptures in 2017 with your wonderful character 'Fons' for your solo expo Leive, and in 2018 another character appeared 'Can Rat'. What pushed you to operate in three dimensions?

BISSER

In my opinion, an artist has to search for new challenges in order to evolve. It’s this stepping into the dark that opens up new doors you had never thought of. By pushing your own boundaries in new directions, you will find new experiences and take your work to another level. Of course, you don’t have to try out new things every day. You have to get used to the material, and after a while, you can master it. It takes time and patience, but it’s worth it. A big step is to get your work from two to three dimensions. For me, this step went slowly. I first experimented with paper-mâché with the works mentioned above. I wasn’t really thinking about how my work would be in 3D, but I just had fun crafting. It was a process of trial and error. Since the beginning of this year, I have started with ceramics, and I now can say that I officially took my work to the third dimension!

Interview with Bisser embracing the unknown of ceramics, 2023

GraffitiStreet

Recently you have used malleable clay in a series of new sculptural works. Is this material you've always wanted to work with as an expressive tool?

BISSER

When I was a kid, I used it a couple of times, but I never enjoyed it. At that time, I didn’t have the patience to put much effort into a sculpture. Now twenty years later, I picked it up again. It was impulsive. One day I just went to the art store to buy art supplies I had never worked with before, so I decided to buy myself a sculpting wheel and some clay. Since that day, I don’t know how to stop.

Interview with Bisser embracing the unknown of ceramics, 2023

Interview with Bisser embracing the unknown of ceramics, 2023

GraffitiStreet

From an idea into a physical piece. How does your artistic process start?

BISSER

I’ve got different ways of starting a sculpture. Most of the time I start from the clay itself. In the beginning, I ask myself questions: Is it going to be a full figure or a bust? Animal or human? What kind of posture? Once I have a base, I start working on the limbs, and next are the details. At every step, I ask myself what I want to do or what fits the sculpture. So actually, there is no idea or sketch. Another way that I recently started doing for the animals is from reference. I’ve got my old toys at the studio; these are realistic animals from the company Schleich. I chose two animals and combined them. The result is a mash-up of two totally different animals. Because I use these references, the results are more realistic than my earlier animals.

Interview with Bisser embracing the unknown of ceramics, 2023

Interview with Bisser embracing the unknown of ceramics, 2023

Interview with Bisser embracing the unknown of ceramics, 2023

Interview with Bisser embracing the unknown of ceramics, 2023

GraffitiStreet

Where did you learn your technique to create your sculptures?

BISSER

I learned most of it on my own. Once I started, I checked out some videos on how to sculpt, but there isn’t a lot on how to build up a figure. Most of them are about throwing pots. One video I saw explained that the first thing you need to do when you start a figure is the necking. That helped me a lot. I guess I got some small tips from the different videos, but most of it I learned by doing. There are some basic rules you have to keep in mind. The most important one is that everything needs to be hollow. Because if the clay has some small air bubbles in it will crack or even explode in the kiln. So that’s why all clay that isn’t necessary needs to be removed. One technic is starting from a basic shape. Once satisfied with the shape, I cut it in half and scraped away the inside of both shapes. After that, I glue them back together. Then follows the limbs and details. It’s a good way of creating volume, but this is only possible for small sculptures. Another way to make volumes is the coil technic. This is building up your sculpture from sausages. It’s very time-consuming. The nice thing about this one is that it’s a solid way of building up the volume. The last one is the slap technic. It’s similar to the coil one but then with pancakes. So you make a big pancake and cut it off straight. After it has dried for some time, you can shape it into a cylinder. It’s a good technic because it goes quite fast, but with my experience, I still have to do a lot of trial and error.

Interview with Bisser embracing the unknown of ceramics, 2023

Interview with Bisser embracing the unknown of ceramics, 2023

Interview with Bisser embracing the unknown of ceramics, 2023

Interview with Bisser embracing the unknown of ceramics, 2023

Interview with Bisser embracing the unknown of ceramics, 2023

GraffitiStreet

Can you give us some insight into your creative process? the building of the characters, and What you use to create the texture of the animals?

BISSER

Most of it is just starting with a clear mind, and by working on it, I come up with a character. It’s most of the time seeing things in the shape of clay and adding or removing elements. I always want to try out new things and challenge myself. This can be within a size or how complicated the figures are. I recently started working on animals that stand on their four legs. This is a new challenge. Most of my first animals always sit and so they have a solid base to work from. Making them stand up is a real challenge. I have a wide range of different materials to work with. I create the fur of the animals by scraping into the clay with a needle. It needs to be done when the clay is leather-hard. This is important because when I wait too long, it’s not possible anymore.

Interview with Bisser embracing the unknown of ceramics, 2023

Interview with Bisser embracing the unknown of ceramics, 2023

GraffitiStreet

How do you fire-hardened your sculptures? have you experienced casualties during this process?

BISSER

I use an electric kiln (an oven for pottery). Until now, I haven’t had any casualties; the only thing is that the kiln I use is at another place than my studio, so I need to move the sculptures. And during this time, the sculptures are dry and very fragile. So during this move, there were some casualties, but all the sculptures I put in the kiln came out how they went in.

Interview with Bisser embracing the unknown of ceramics, 2023

Another way to fire them is in an open fire. I experimented a lot with this and had a lot of casualties. The clay can’t handle the thermal shock of the fire. So I changed my progress. Before I put them on the open fire, I bake them at the highest degree in a normal oven. Once the sculptures are half-baked, I take them out of the oven and put them directly into the open fire. So the thermal shock isn’t that high, and they can harden in an open fire. The nice thing about this way of firing is that you can’t predict how it will be when finished. The flames create black and brown stains. It gives a natural feel to the sculpture. During a two-week stay at my parent’s vacation house in France, I made my own small wood-fired kiln in the garden. I sculpted some small characters and fired them. Here the firing itself took around 4-6 hours. It was so nice to do because you could see the pieces glowing. This is something I want to do in the future. It’s more time-consuming because you need to keep the fire hot, but I really liked it!

Interview with Bisser embracing the unknown of ceramics, 2023

Interview with Bisser embracing the unknown of ceramics, 2023

Interview with Bisser embracing the unknown of ceramics, 2023

Interview with Bisser embracing the unknown of ceramics, 2023

Interview with Bisser embracing the unknown of ceramics, 2023

Interview with Bisser embracing the unknown of ceramics, 2023

Interview with Bisser embracing the unknown of ceramics, 2023

Interview with Bisser embracing the unknown of ceramics, 2023

GraffitiStreet

It is a fairly time-consuming activity. How long does it typically take to create a sculpture?

BISSER

It depends on how detailed and how big the piece is. My biggest to date (Gorki) took me five days to complete.

Interview with Bisser embracing the unknown of ceramics, 2023

The small ones take me a day, but sometimes it takes me just a couple of hours. I think the most time-consuming part is making decisions on what it’s going to be. I also started making very small animals. The challenge here is to make them as fast as possible. It’s almost speed sculpting. These take me around 30min or less. I do it when I almost need to leave or even on the train back home.

Interview with Bisser embracing the unknown of ceramics, 2023

Interview with Bisser embracing the unknown of ceramics, 2023

Interview with Bisser embracing the unknown of ceramics, 2023

GraffitiStreet

Clay sculpting is a form of visual art that requires vision, concentration, attention and dedication. Which part of the process do you find more challenging? Which part do you find more fun?

BISSER

I enjoy sculpting the most. Once they are done and dry, they go into the kiln. Then it’s a waiting game. It takes nine hours for the kiln to reach its top temperature and then another nine to twelve hours to cool down. Of course, the opening of the kiln is a very exciting moment. But till now, everything came out how it went in, so not a lot has changed. Only that they are solid. The normal process of ceramics is also once they have been biscuit fired (first firing on 900C), they need to be glazed. So they need to be painted or dipped in glaze, and once dry, they need to go back in the kiln and fired at a higher temperature (+1000C). The glaze makes them harder and also non-porous. This process of glazing I still need to explore this.

Interview with Bisser embracing the unknown of ceramics, 2023

GraffitiStreet

We know from your street art murals and artworks that you are creative, fun and imaginative. You have brought this to your sculptures with your animals and items like Spaarkop (spare head). What inspires your creativity?

BISSER

I like to narrow my possibilities when working or looking for an idea. That way, I need to be creative with the elements I’ve got. It’s making a frame for yourself and your creativity. You can do it by laying out a specific theme or concept for yourself. But you can also challenge yourself in making something really fast (like the small animals) or have limited resources in the materials that you use. That way, you have to be creative with the elements you have. This stimulates creativity. When looking for an idea, I like to associate different concepts or subjects. It’s by connecting these that I come up with new ideas. Ceramics are mostly objects for use (plates, mugs, flower pots, etc.), so I had the idea to twist these objects to my style. The Spaarkop is an example of one of these objects. The idea came from forcing myself to make an object for use (the frame) And then adjusting it to my own style. I thought it would be funny to make a head with holes in it because then the meaning of it becomes irrelevant.

Interview with Bisser embracing the unknown of ceramics, 2023

Interview with Bisser embracing the unknown of ceramics, 2023

This is the first one of many. I already made a Flower head, and recently, I also made a mug.

Interview with Bisser embracing the unknown of ceramics, 2023

Interview with Bisser embracing the unknown of ceramics, 2023

Interview with Bisser embracing the unknown of ceramics, 2023

Interview with Bisser embracing the unknown of ceramics, 2023

Interview with Bisser embracing the unknown of ceramics, 2023

Interview with Bisser embracing the unknown of ceramics, 2023

GraffitiStreet

Now you've mastered clay and seen the results, have you any aspirations to try different materials like stone, marble, metal, or wood?

BISSER

I can’t say that I have already mastered clay. I’m just getting started! I’m open to trying all kinds of materials. It’s more the technical part and materials that hold me up. That’s the nice thing about ceramics: Once you have a kiln, the materials aren’t expensive or hard to find, and it’s very easy to sculpt. So yes, I want to try out new materials, but I guess time will tell when I start using them.

Interview with Bisser embracing the unknown of ceramics, 2023