In LOVE, body and ground touch along incompatible vectors. Softbrick forms from clay bodies composed of aggregated clay minerals alongside sawdust, rice hulls, or Styrofoam beads that burn away during firing and creating seemingly innumerable pores in the ceramic brick. Body channels through brick pores, enabled to compatibly touch ground with the conduit. A black PU leather harness affixes softbrick to body. Oil-based black ink, like the black PU leather absorbs all frequencies and is derived from petroleum, holding deep-time collectives of ancient bodies, compressed organic matter rendered synthetic. Ink is rolled across brick, sticking to brick then sticks to ground as body touches brick and inked brick touches ground, recording the touches of brick and body on ground. A hazmat suit made of nylon, also petroleum-derived, is worn by body. Ink and nylon have low porosity, containing the body under the presumption of multidirectional contamination: body of ground and ground of body. Ground is covered with plastic-lined drop cloth, which also helps to prevent contamination of body and ground. Dressed and inked, body orients toward ground: hands to knees, knees to ground. Body descends toward ground. Brick hovers above ground before gravity compels body to touch ground. Body carrying brick ascends from ground, ink sticking to ground, recording, rectangular brick. LOVE keeper shouts LOVE, lifting overhead a black sign with LOVE cut out in voided letters. Invocation instructions: LOVE is shouted.

LOVE 1. 2025. Oil-based printing ink, paper/poly drop cloth, hazmat suit, Champak masks, disposable nylon shoe covers, softbrick, PU leather harness, wax.

LOVE 3. 2026. Oil-based printing ink, paper/poly drop cloth, hazmat suit, Champak masks, disposable nylon shoe covers, softbrick, PU leather harness. National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts (NCECA) Volumes Conference: Clay in Performance, Detroit, Michigan. Performers: NCECA volunteers. Video: em irvin.