Container Tropes in Transition
“All sorrows can be borne if you put them into a story or tell a story about them.”
(Hannah Arendt, The Human Condition)
Container Tropes in Transition is a performative intervention in Groningen, carried out on April 12,
2026, with seven citizens from the city. The work focuses on the phenomenon of pain perception
and its transition. The intervention is a tribute to rawness, loss, and processing.
The Action
Seven (amateur) performers from Groningen carry seven works of unfired clay from the studio on
Oude Boteringestraat to KEIK at Boterdiep.
The procession takes place in silence and proceeds under all weather conditions.
Upon arrival, the works — container tropes — are each placed on an individual pedestal, hand-
sawn from an oak trunk from a private garden. The objects are installed in the uncovered patio of
AAS architects / the exhibition space of KEIK.
The performers remain in silence with the works for one minute. After that, the intervention is
complete.
Transition of the Material
Over the course of three months of exposure to weather and wind, the unfired clay will change:
the containers will deform, soften, and eventually disintegrate. KEIK chooses not to remove the
remnants, but to leave the traces of transformation visible.
The procession is filmed. This cinematic documentation will be shown on a loop in the indoor
space adjacent to the patio during the presentation period. In addition, a Q&A session will take
place on a date to be determined for those interested.
Background
The series of clay works Container Tropes originated after a visit to the Lötschental in the Swiss
Alps in 2025.
During this stay, the valley was marked by a recent natural disaster: the village of Blatten had
been completely buried one month prior to arrival by a landslide, caused by exceptionally massive
thawing of permafrost in the high mountains.
The environment was apocalyptic and almost devoid of people. Soldiers were transported daily
by helicopter over the disaster area and picked up again in the evening. This rhythm shaped the
experience of time and place.
The fragile ‘containers’ reflect memories of personally experienced pain and the emptiness that
remains after loss. They symbolize all-encompassing events and forms of loss that elude
language.
After my return to Groningen, I intuitively followed my choice of material and technique. Working
with clay — after six months of intensive practice — brought both surprise and liberation. The
almost suffocating linear experience, triggered by the disaster site, gradually became milder,
softer, and more accepting in nature. The fragile character of the objects ultimately proved to be
an essential part of this series.
Definition of Terms
Container
A container can store, encompass, shelter, or temporarily hold something.
It can be opened, its contents experienced or removed, and then closed and put back again.
A container can take various forms and be made of different materials.
Sometimes the exterior reflects the interior; sometimes the outside and inside are in sharp
contrast, yet together form a whole.
Trope
A ‘trope’ refers to a pattern, motif, or recurring element. It can be a figure of speech, but also a
repeated theme that generates meaning.
View the documentary work by Hannah Kingma: https://youtu.be/fhiiKN4kHgo.
No choreography
was given, and, as with the performance itself, the entire action took place only once, in a single
take, without any rehearsal.
reactions and reflections of the performers 2
Tanja Isbarn / May 2026