​​​My current work is part of a series I have been working on for a few years now. The small sculptures, ruins and temples just kind of evolved. I’m a fan of decaying buildings and structures. I find old log cabins, collapsing barns, abandoned malls, factories and theme parks fascinating. I’ve pulled a lot of inspiration from post-apocalyptic video games such as Fallout and State of Decay, as well as the science fiction writings of Paolo Bacigalupi that take place in a world that is difficult to survive in, with extreme weather, few resources, and many desperate people. 

 

I started making little ruin pieces with random pieces of slabs cut off after doing other projects. Then I made these little bombed-out cityscapes. I wanted them to look as if everything was destroyed and rebuilt and possibly destroyed again. 

 

I began doing these not long after Russia invaded Ukraine, and then the destruction of Gaza began. Every day the news is filled with images of bombed-out buildings, endless rubble, and suffering, and I think we just become numb to it all.

 

Then not long ago Hurricane Helene hit our region, and we experienced similar scenes of devastation first-hand. The destruction brought by extreme weather seemed like an eerie reflection of the bomb-induced damage on the other side of the world.

 

-Noah Bell

 

Odyssey Gallery of Ceramic Arts

238 Clingman Ave

Asheville, NC 28801

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