A Pavilion Within
Sabrina Sterk
Master of Architecture | University of South Australia
“Rooted in the soul, there is A Pavillion Within, holding place for us like a compass needle whilst the body dances its drawing through space.”
MATERIALS: clay
Artist Statement
A Pavillion Within is a sculptural story, celebrating the union between human and earth, energy and matter. Embedded within the sculpture's abstracted form lives a narrative about ‘home,’ exploring the connection one has to the environment in which this place is constructed. For ‘home’ transcends mere physical space; it is a deeply emotional and psychological construct tied to identity, belonging, memory, and security.
A Pavillion Within represents a home found through lived experience—an evolving place shaped by one’s emotional and sensory connections with memory and inherent creativity. Imbued with a reverence for nature, this sculpture encapsulates a belief in the fluidity of home as an abstract space where both mind and body dwell. Through its form and the use of clay (a material sourced from the earth and capable of returning to it without detriment), the sculpture evokes themes of sustainability, cyclical existence, and the interconnectedness of the environment with the human experience.
Synopsis
Sabrina Sterk is a traveler, a shape shifter, an observationalist, and a lover of nature. Her sculptures are often very ephemeral in form, with a subtle ode to the body, whilst remaining abstracted. Her latest sculpture ‘A Pavillion Within’, is yet another example of her architectural mind unravelling into clay dimensions. In this piece she addresses the concept of ‘home’, in relation to ‘Country’, and what it means to her as a concept translated into literal form. Sabrina has used abstraction and playful yet strategic design tactics in her articulation of form, with a very clear binary represented through void and mass, length and volume. In a recent interview she described her sculpture with a metaphor “it reminds me of a drawing compass..one’s knowing of ‘home’ is like the needle— a central point of stability that we can always return to - and the pencil attached is like our body, dancing a drawing through space”. Thus suggesting “..‘home’ is not a fixed location, but rather an inner reference point, rooted in the soul, guiding us through life’s experiences”.
Crafted from white raku clay—a material sourced from the earth and capable of returning to it without detriment—the sculpture reflects themes of identity, memory, connection and the cyclical relationship between humans and nature. Sabrina explores the construct of ‘home’ with an abstracted lens, identifying with it as a place constructed by thought and feeling superior to that of material values. A Pavillion Within celebrates the evolving relationship between architecture, identity, and the environment. It envisions a future where the individual may make effort to connect with their own true knowing of ‘home’, and from there, create place in their physical environment which align to their beliefs and to the natural surrounds in which they build.
