experimenting with time and waste
In response to the temporary nature of the work site (an artist-run space leased by an anti-crack agency) and volatile access to precious materials traditionally used in stained glass construction, Crystal began exploring alternative ways to continue reclaiming stained glass scraps from traditional glass artists who work in larger scales (Glas in Lood windows), in combination with her access to daily newspapers.
The year-long process of collecting and reclaiming these materials built a physically layered archive, one whose confrontational juxtapositions bring global disasters, local mundanities, and seasonal rhythms into a single, meditative plane.
As a result, the paper-mâché Mancala table invites passersby, neighbors, and regulars to sit in its illogical layers of headlines and half-solved sudokus, playing a universal game of stones while engaging in a tactile meditation on the convergence of it all.
As an ongoing construction study to explore this method of paper mache and scrap glass, Crystal invited the general public (both those who deem themselves “creative” and “not artistic at all”) to contribute to this developing technique by sculpting their own compositions in a workshop format.
₊ ⊹ Facilitated by Crystal Mah. Hosted by the Crooked Studio, “Proof of Life” July 2026 (Rotterdam, Netherlands)
