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William MoraCurriculum
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William Mora, originally from Bogotá, Colombia, spent his formative years in
Quebec, Canada, where he navigated the intricate blend of two distinct cultures.
This unique upbringing serves as the cornerstone of his artistic expression, a
fusion of influences stemming from his Colombian roots and Canadian upbringing.
As a multidisciplinary artist based in Montréal (Tio’tia:ke), Mora delves
primarily into ceramics and graphic arts, reflecting his ongoing exploration of
cultural identity. Currently pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Sculpture and
Ceramics at Concordia University, Mora is deeply engaged in unraveling the
complexities of visual communication and its historical contexts through his
research studio, Memory Land Studio.

Mora’s artistic journey has taken him across borders, participating in
residencies in France and Canada, where he immersed himself in diverse artistic
communities and expanded his creative horizons. His exhibitions, ranging from
Paris to Mexico City, serve as platforms for his thought-provoking creations,
such as Attaches Parisiennes pour Poignées de Porte at Villa Belleville and
Annihilation at Galerie Laroche/Joncas. Through his participation in
international art fairs like Material in Mexico City (2024) and local
exhibitions such as Plural in Montréal (2023)  and Paradis et Liberté in Québec
City (2022), Mora’s work bridges geographical divides, inviting viewers into a
world of visual exploration and cultural dialogue.




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Chimenea2024 Collaboration between William Mora and Diane Garcia Ramos
Montreal, Canada
2024

Chimenea 

15 x 28 x 15 inches

Glazed Stoneware

2024


Photo by Diane Garcia Ramos and William Mora
Presented at L’Éloi as part of exhibition, HYBRID for the Forum Montreal
Montréal, Canada
2024
Group Exhbition
Curate by Chloé Latour and Jodi Heartz


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Tolima Pectoral Series2024Presented at 10th Anniversary Edition of Material Art
Fair 
CDMX, Mexico 
2024

Tolima Pectoral Series 

10.5 x 10.5 x 2.5 inches

Porcelain, Stoneware and Glaze 

2024


Photo by Material Fair and William Mora
Mora presented his Tolima Pectorales Series, a collection of porcelain and
stoneware objects made using 3D object-molding techniques and ceramic production
lines. The series represents a contemporary reinterpretation and reappropriation
of Pre-Columbian Tolima goldsmithing, creating a visual dialogue between
historical craftsmanship and modern technology. This cultural and collective
hybridization is a reflection of Mora's own identity and his heterogeneous
artistic practice. 


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Mi nombre es «Latino» y mi apellido es «Americano» 2023Presented at
Laroche/Joncas as part of exhibition,
Annihilation
Montréal, Canada
2023
Mi nombre es «Latino» y mi apellido es 

«Americano» 

Differents sizes Stoneware, Terracotta, 

Glaze, Underglaze and 
Fibres

2023


Photo by Jean-Michael Seminaro
The main piece is a warrior who has the phrase no hay nada de imposible
solamente hombres incapables on his shield, which translates to there is nothing
impossible, only incapable men. A phrase that has stayed in my memory since
childhood, a phrase my mother would repeat to us during difficult times. It
reflects the mentality of our family, which we call la malicia indígena
(indigenous malice), being resourceful, where an immigrant must fight every day
to live his life and provide for his family in a world imposed on him as a
refuge due to war, economic problems, political pressures, and other factors.

At the back of the wall, there are two hanging ceramics called Minga 1 and 2.
The title of this work is inspired by a South American tradition: La Minga,
which signifies collective work for social and political purposes, though the
definition varies from community to community according to their customs. For
these communities, minga is a cultural practice of putting communal work at the
service of a community or social cause, village, or family at specific times
when significant effort is needed. Thus, the text inscribed on this work is a
fragment from the song Plastico by Willie Colon & Ruben Blades, which expresses
a dream of a united Latin America. This aspiration cannot be achieved without
collective work and the unity of Latin Americans.
Clay has always been a primary material used by humans to record and archive
numbers, words, thoughts, and stories. Therefore, I use this medium to convey a
fiction of a united Latin America, a single country. This installation thus
takes shape as a place of information and encounter between modernity and
tradition and contemporary immigration issues. Additionally, this installation
aesthetically resembles a temple where information is transmitted and passed on
to the next.





Photo by Jean-Michael Seminaro
Humankind was once, in Greek tragedy, the object of contemplation for the
Olympian gods. Acting as puppeteers, they delighted in meddling with human
affairs; for the ancient Greeks, divine intervention was the cause for joy and
suffering, seasons and storms. Of course, since the time of Homer, science and
technology have fundamentally transformed our relationship to the earth and the
skies. Reflecting on the cultural and societal shifts that followed
industrialization, Walter Benjamin wrote that humankind—in the absence of
gods—has become an object of contemplation for itself: our self-alienation has
reached a point where we can experience our own annihilation as a supreme
aesthetic pleasure.[1] Alienated from human nature and deprived of destiny we
became an object of our own contemplation. The forces of capitalism have
diverted the forces of life, Eros, into forces of death. Spurred on by a
compulsion for growth, capitalism has paradoxically deprived life of both life
and death—but life that negates death negates itself.[2]

Aristotle wrote that tragedy purifies the passions; Anne Carson wrote that
tragedy is born from grief.[3] In the story of Agamemnon, Kassandra knows that
she will die; she has seen it. Cursed with the gift of prophecy, she cries: O
river of home my Skamander / I used to dream by your waters / now soon enough /
back and forth on the banks of the river of / hell / I will walk with my song
torn open.[4] Like Kassandra, are we not at a moment of witness? We are already
living on after the end: death has entered the frame.
Maybe the condition of our era is that we are sensing our finitude as a
world-forming and world-destroying species.[5] This finitude is exacerbated by
mutating and evolving systems of power and domination that have begun to exceed
our control. Among the anthropogenic scars we leave behind will be the symbols,
objects and sanctuaries we have built to protect ourselves in the present and
future: apotropaic charms, grotesques and reliquaries, or dreams cast in bronze.
Perhaps the division of life and death needs to be set aside. At the moment of
our own loss, the interconnectedness that binds us to our milieu makes itself
known.

-Kate Nugent

[1] Benjamin, Walter. The Work of Art in the Age of Its Technological
Reproducibility, and Other Writings on Media. Edited by Michael William Jennings
et al. Translated by E. F. N Jephcott et al., Belknap Press of Harvard
University Press, 2008.
[2] Han, Byung-Chul. Capitalism and the Death Drive. Translated by Daniel
Steuer, Polity Press, 2021.
[3] Aristotle, and Michael Davis. Aristotle on Poetics. Translated by Seth
Benardete, St. Augustine's Press, 2001.; Euripides. Grief Lessons : Four Plays.
Translated by Anne Carson, New York Review Books, 2006.
[4] Aeschylus, et al. An Oresteia. Translated by Anne Carson, First paperback
ed., Faber & Faber, 2010.
[5] Colebrook, Claire. Essays on Extinction. First edition., First ed., Vol. 1,
Death of the Posthuman /, Open Humanities Press with Michigan Publishing -
University of Michigan Library, 2014.

Link to the exhibition

Group show with :  Dante Guthrie, Lindsay Lion Lord, Andrew Rutherdaleand Cléo
Sjölander


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Residency Villa Belleville2023 Presented at Villa Bellevillle as part of
exhibition,
Attaches parisiennes pour poignées de porte
Paris, France
2023

Pré-Clignancourt 93 

Different size 

Stoneware and Glaze 

2023


Photo by Adèle Onnillon

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Collectibles and researches made in collaboration between
William Mora, Miel Divin and Ajile le Cercle.
Paris, France
2023

Pré-Clignancourt 93 Collectibles

Different size 

PLA and Acrylic

2023


Photo by William Mora, Ajile le Cercle and Miel Divin
Collectibles made in collaboration between William Mora, Miel Divin, and Ajile
le Cercle. Signed and numbered, each one is unique.

This project is the result of a collaboration between technology and traditional
craftsmanship. These pieces were developed through 3D scanning of clay objects
created during the residency at Villa Belleville called Pré-Clignancourt 93.
These unique, hand-modeled pieces, inspired by pre-Columbian objects and
ceramics, are transformed into fictitious consumer items through 3D scanning and
printing. This process raises questions about the consumption of real versus
fake objects, but the project was also created for the fun of exploring modern
technologies and incorporating them into my practice of cultural hybridization
and conservation issues.
The name is inspired by the Clignancourt Market, a place where cultures clash,
and social disparity is present. This market, known for selling both unique
antiques and fictitious consumer goods, was one of my sources of inspiration for
this project an exploration and a way to have fun.

Collectibles are 3D printed in PLA by Miel Divin, scanned from ceramic
sculptures by William Mora, with airbrushed acrylic additions by Ajile. 

Made in Paris during summer 2023.

LINK TO THE PROJECT

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Ceramic objects and graphics for Memory Land Studio.
Paris, France
2023
You & I are, Earth Serie
Different size
Porcelain, Glaze, Laser Engraving and Screenprinted T-shirt 
2023



Photo by Adèle Onnillon and MLS
You & I are, Earth, 2023, Merchandise Memory Land Studio, T-Shirt and Porcelain
is a unique project that features a compilation of MLS logos created from
monogrammed numbers, initial letters, and marks inscribed on pottery and
porcelain. This project is realized thanks to a thorough compilation in a
dictionary of marks by Raph. M and Terry. H Kovel from the book Kovels'
Dictionary of Marks / Pottery And Porcelain: 1650 to 1850, along with several
other dictionaries.

These books, organized by important characteristics and with a comprehensive
cross-reference system, allow for quick identification of the geographical
location of the mark, the factory or family name of the manufacturer, the type
of product, the method of production of the mark on the object, the color of the
mark, and the period during which the mark was used. These encyclopedias provide
the fastest way to identify American, English, European, Chinese porcelain and
more. Once a piece is identified, research and experience.

We have created a series of plates incorporating several of these marks to
create our own, including our studio name, location, and year of production.
These marks, traditionally hand-applied on the botton of plates, have been
placed on the top and laser-engraved onto the porcelain. In this way, the
tradition of industrial pottery is repeated through the use of molds and marks,
but with a contemporary twist.
The inspiration behind this project stems from the rich history and meticulous
documentation of pottery and porcelain marks found in various historical
dictionaries. Kovels' Dictionary of Marks - Pottery And Porcelain: 1650 to 1850,
among others, serves as a vital resource in tracing the origins and
characteristics of pottery marks. These marks, often small and intricate, tell
stories of their creators and their era.

By studying these marks and their details, we aimed to bridge the past with the
present. Our series of plates not only honors these historical traditions but
also integrates modern techniques, such as laser engraving, to create something
entirely new and unique. Each piece is a testament to the enduring legacy of
pottery craftsmanship and our studio's dedication to preserving and innovating
within this art form. This projet was presented in December 2023 in Paris,
France at Villa Belleville.

-MLS.

LINK TO THE PROJECT /  MEMORY LAND STUDIO.



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William Mora is a freelance designer and visual artist based in Tio’tia:ke /
Mooniyang / Montréal.