¹ De ini ion — In e sen ien S a es: A pe cep ual condi ion in which awa eness appea s dis ibu ed be ween pe cei e and ma e ial o m - wi hou implying consciousness
wi hin ma e , bu naming he ecip oci y o a en ion ha a ises when a shaped objec seems o e u n he gaze o awa eness o i s make o iewe . The sen ience lies no in
he objec bu in he ela ion: a ci cui o pe cep ion ha mo es h ough, a he han me ely be ween, pa icipan s.
© Da id Ba ow 2025. This wo k is licensed unde a C ea i e Commons A ibu ion 4.0 In e na ional License (CC BY 4.0).
In e sen ien S a es: A Founda ional No e.
Da id A Ba ow
P o esso Eme i us, Ca di Uni e si y, Ca di , CF24 1AA, Wales, UK.
[email p o ec ed].uk || [email p o ec ed] || www.da idba ows udio.com
Abs ac
This b ie s a emen ou lines ongoing wo k on a concep I e m In e sen ien S a es¹. The e m desc ibes he condi ions
o sha ed and/o ecip ocal awa eness ha may e ol e be ween ma e ial o ms, make , and iewe s. I sugges s ha
a wo ks may pa icipa e in pe cep ion a he han me ely ecei e i . D awing upon essels, sculp ed heads, and pain ings
om my own p ac ice, he concep p oposes a embodied poe ics o ela ion, whe e a en ion becomes dis ibu ed ac oss
objec and obse e . While he concep has philosophical a ini ies wi h new ma e ialism and phenomenology, i a ises
di ec ly om my s udio expe ience. This sho a icle se es o ch onicle au ho ship and announce his concep ual ield
ahead o a o hcoming, pee - e iewed pape .
Keywo ds: In e sen ien S a es; in e sen ience; ma e ial pe cep ion; ela ional aes he ics; agen i e ma e ; ce amics;
embodied cogni ion; Ca lo Sca pa; Hans Cope ; Shōji Kamoda; Elisabe h F ink; Elizabe h F i sch; Go don Baldwin.
Main Tex
This ph ase, In e sen ien S a es1 - names a ield o ela ion, no a heo y. I e e s o imes when pe cep ion eels sha ed,
when ma e ial, make , and beholde seem ha monised wi hin a single, mu able awa eness. The e m in e sen ien
ex ends beyond in e subjec i e. I does no depend on consciousness be ween pe sons bu acknowledges ha a en ion
i sel can be enabled h ough o m.
The e m in e sen ien does no sugges ha ma e ials, a e ac s, o objec s a e hemsel es sen ien . Ra he , i names a
pe cep ual ecip oci y ha occu s when awa eness seems o a el be ween make , ma e ial, and beholde . The a wo k,
once shaped by a sen ien being, may ca y and e u n aces o ha awa eness - no as consciousness, bu as
con igu a ion. The sen ience belongs en i ely o hose who pe cei e; wha is sha ed is no hough o eeling wi hin he
objec , bu he pe cep ual ield ha a ises h ough encoun e .
The o igin o his idea lies in making. Re u ning o ull- ime ce amics a e decades in expe imen al science, I ecognised
amilia dynamics - sys ems held a h eshold, ensions be ween con ainmen and elease, ma e poised be ween phases.
In he s udio hese p inciples become pe cep ual. Clay seemed o lis en; su aces eco ded hei own his o ies; a essel
beha ed as hough awa e o i s weigh in he oom. I use he e m agen i e no o imply au onomous ac ion, bu o
desc ibe his sensa ion ha o m pa icipa es in pe cep ion h ough i s physical and isual p esence.
I ha e sensed his oo in he wo ks o o he s: in Hans Cope ’s comp essed olumes, Go don Baldwin’s wea he ed bowls,
and Elizabe h F i sch’s hy hmic g oupings, whe e essels appea o lis en o one ano he ac oss space. Each a icula es
p esence as some hing ecip ocal–a s illness ha ac s back upon he iewe . The T ibu e sculp u es o Elisabe h F ink
embody a pa allel cha ge, hei poised o ms ansmi ing awa eness as much as o m. Likewise, Ca lo Sca pa’s
a chi ec u es seem cu o i memo y a he han u ili y; his ape u es, h esholds, and suspended geome ies shape how
pe cep ion mo es. My own essels and heads ollow ha lineage o a en ion. They inhabi sen ience a he han depic
i . The quie agency I sense in my own wo k owes much o he example o Hans Cope , whose comp essed olumes
hold s illness and ension as one condi ion. His essels seem less made han ound a he h eshold be ween con ainmen
and elease - o ms ha lis en back. Echoes o his ecip oci y appea in a olde o ms. The iolin-shaped ma ble idols
o he Ea ly B onze Age, such as he Beycesul an ypes om Ana olia, al eady use body and essel in o a single
a en i e p esence - ea ly signs ha awa eness migh ind exp ession h ough o m i sel .
Wi hin his amewo k, In e sen ien S a es desc ibes how o m holds ela ion and is no a me apho o consciousness.
The phenomenon belongs en i ely wi hin human pe cep ion: he a e ac , once shaped, ca ies o mal and ac ile quali ies
ha can make i appea o mee he obse e hal way. This ecip oci y a ises in he ac o looking, no wi hin he ma e ial
i sel . In e sen ience he e o e, names a pe cep ual ela ion - an e en o awa eness dis ibu ed h ough a en ion, a he
han any in insic sen ience o ma e . A essel oo esol ed can lose a en i eness; an un inished su ace can emain
¹ De ini ion — In e sen ien S a es: A pe cep ual condi ion in which awa eness appea s dis ibu ed be ween pe cei e and ma e ial o m - wi hou implying consciousness
wi hin ma e , bu naming he ecip oci y o a en ion ha a ises when a shaped objec seems o e u n he gaze o awa eness o i s make o iewe . The sen ience lies no in
he objec bu in he ela ion: a ci cui o pe cep ion ha mo es h ough, a he han me ely be ween, pa icipan s.
© Da id Ba ow 2025. This wo k is licensed unde a C ea i e Commons A ibu ion 4.0 In e na ional License (CC BY 4.0).
ecep i e. G ouped oge he , such wo ks may some imes o m esonan con igu a ions - spa ial ecologies whe e objec s
appea o lis en o one ano he . In such cha ged p oximi ies, pe cep ion becomes plu al.
Pa allels wi h scien i ic p ac ice emain close. In bo h domains, unde s anding eme ges h ough bo h expe imen and
obse a ion. This con inui y be ween disciplines is cap u ed by A hu Koes le ’s no ion o bisocia ion, which
hypo hesised ha c ea i e hough is bo n om he collision o dis inc ames. Recen neu ocogni i e s udies now
sugges ha a is ic and scien i ic insigh sha e he same unde lying neu al ci cui y, demons a ed by he dynamic
in e play be ween imagina i e and e alua i e ne wo ks and media ed by neu ochemical modula o s such as dopamine.
Whe he composing a sco e, designing an expe imen , o shaping a essel, he ac o c ea ion seems o d aw upon he
same physiological subs a e o cu iosi y and ewa d.
To call a wo k in e sen ien is he e o e o desc ibe an epis emic e en , whe e pe cep ion is dis ibu ed ac oss ma e
and mind. The s udio becomes bo h he si e and ins umen o enqui y. Each o m, whe he a leaning sculp ed head, a
composi e essel, o a mu ed pain ing, eco ds no exp ession bu embodies a en ion held in ma e ial. These a e no
objec s o ep esen a ion bu h esholds o awa eness.
The e hical dimension is quie bu p esen . Recognising ma e ial as pa icipan , a he han a passi e medium, in i es a
slowe , mo e ecip ocal o m o seeing. I aligns wi h Jane Benne ’s ib an ma e and Ka en Ba ad’s in a-ac ion.
These a e amewo ks in which agency eme ges h ough ela ion, no dominance. In e sen ien S a es he e o e p oposes
an aes he ic ecology - one ha alues p esence o e asse ion, and lis ening o e display.
This no e canno encompass he ull a icula ion o he concep , which will appea in expanded o m elsewhe e. I s
pu pose is o egis e he e m, indica e i s o igins in p ac ice, and sugges i s philosophical each. In e sen ien S a es
designa es hose agile condi ions in which ma e ial, make , and beholde sha e pe cep ion - each shaping he o he
wi hin a ield o mu ual ega d.
Conclusion
To speak o In e sen ien S a es is o admi ha awa eness may licke whe e e ma e is a anged o ecei e i . In such
momen s, a is less an objec han an e en o co-p esence - some hing ha happens be ween he make , he ma e ial,
and whoe e s ands be o e i .
Au ho ’s No e on T anspa ency
This ex was de eloped om my own w i ing and e lec ions, wi h he assis ance o an adap i e gene a i e-language
sys em used solely o edi o ial e inemen . All ideas, examples, and amewo ks o igina e om my pe sonal esea ch
and a is ic p ac ice.
This pape is a companion ex o he au ho ’s ex ended essay “In e sen ien S a es: S udio Re lec ions” (2025), which
de elops he same concep h ough expanded discussion and isual analysis.
Selec ed Re e ences
Koes le A. The Ac o C ea ion (London: Hu chinson, 1964).
Benne J. Vib an Ma e : A Poli ical Ecology o Things (Du ham, NC: Duke Uni e si y P ess, 2010).
Ba ad K. Mee ing he Uni e se Hal way (Du ham, NC: Duke Uni e si y P ess, 2007).
McCa e R. Ca lo Sca pa (London: Phaidon P ess, 2013), pp. 10–15, 78–85.
Whi ing D. Go don Baldwin: Objec s o a Landscape. Yo k A Galle y, 2012.
Robe son B. Elisabe h F ink: Sculp u e (London: Ha p ale Books, 1984).
Do me P. & C ipps D. Elizabe h F i sch (London: Bellew, 1985).
Bi ks T. Hans Cope (London: Collins, 1983).
Inuma u T. & Mo i a K. Kamoda Shōji: A P ominen Figu e in Con empo a y Ce amics (Tokyo: The Na ional Museum o Mode n
A and Nihon Keizai Shimbun, 1987), pp. 81, 83, 152, 157.
Ci a ion
Ba ow, Da id. In e sen ien S a es: A Founda ional No e. Zenodo (2025). 10.5281/zenodo.17502814
