upon a fragile plane

upon a fragile plane imagines grief as a liminal space wherein the griever stands at the threshold between their life before and their life after. Loss has upheaved them out of their previous plane of existence, and the griever now balances on the edge, standing between two realms: of suspension and collapse; of presence and absence. When previously they could pass freely between, now the griever finds themselves frozen with neither fitting quite so well as it once did. What was familiar now feels foreign. Yet the new is strange also, like an alternate reality, a world continuing to charge forward without them. How do you move on when moving on feels like letting go?

Clay becomes a metaphor for flesh, malleable and soft, until it is irrevocably changed. Hardened, calcified under the intensity of the kiln, the same made different. Paint is decision layered upon decision. Reapplied, changed — each return becomes a trace. Vestiges of before are carried into the after. In the wake of grief, the griever takes up residence in the space in-between, existing in the aftermath, resting upon a fragile plane between the ether and the flesh.

A foot in both worlds.

Olivia Asher (Ngāti Tūwharetoa, b. 1994) is an interdisciplinary artist and writer based in Tāmaki Makaurau. Her work explores the relationship between form and feeling, where image, material, and language intersect as traces of lived experience. Engaging with vulnerability, intimacy, and shifting human connections, Olivia moves intuitively through her written and visual practice, exploring the dialogue between self and material—where memory clings like residue and moments of becoming quietly unfold. She holds a BFA from Te Waka Tūhura Elam School of Fine Arts.

Artist’s exhibition shows her experience navigating life in the wake of grief – upon a fragile plane press release 

Associated Programming:

Various Artists w/ Sof and Maya: 17th April, 2026⁠

95bFM host Sof caught up with artist Olivia Asher about her current solo exhibition at Malcolm Smith Gallery at Uxbridge.⁠ Her current solo exhibition, upon a fragile plane, sees Asher exploring these concepts of memory and the state of ‘after’, navigating grief through a beautiful new body of work combining ceramic, painting, and wall adornment. Here, matter holds memory — with clay becoming a metaphor for flesh, once pliant and soft, now hard and fragile, irrevocably changed. In their tender state, the works create a safe container for reflection, resting in this fragile liminal space, exposing an intimate view of the confronting, challenging, and contradictory experiences of ‘after’.

Sof caught up with Olivia Asher about the show and her overall practice.

Click the link here to listen via the 95bFM website.

CANCELLED – a foot in both worlds: Artist talk with Olivia Asher

Join Olivia Asher for an artist talk on Saturday 9 May, 10am.

CANCELLED – a foot in both worlds: Artist Talk with Olivia Asher