Anna Bella-Papp recalls how intuitive it felt the first time she modelled something out of clay as a child.  As something derived from the ground under us, clay always felt simple and familiar to her, and in part it’s that sense of immediacy that led her to work exclusively with unglazed and unfired clay. Papp’s hand-sculpted reliefs are modest in scale and consistently follow the format of a rectangle, which she then subtly modifies with unique incisions or marks, either building up or carving out parts of their surface. Working systematically within the same format allows for small changes and nuances to be imbued with meaning—each new mark becoming an experiment to gauge what range of expression can be wrought by such limited means. The result is a very palpable physicality evoked by simple and subtle forms. Working with and preserving the natural properties of clay is also important for Papp. Grey, white and ivory hues, and traces of fingerprints are left intentionally as clues that tell the story of where the material came from and how the object was made. Unlike stone, clay is constantly evolving—moving, contracting and changing color over time. Embracing this state of flux, Papp adjusts her body in relation to the clay as it changes, oscillating between making a mark and relinquishing control.