Artist Simone Post captivates audiences with her unique approach to art, using unconventional materials to explore profound themes. Her work, which includes sculptures, immersive experiences, and installations, is not just about the final product but also about the process and the stories behind the materials she uses. Post’s choice of materials, such as marshmallows and discarded textiles, speaks volumes about her artistic vision and the messages she aims to convey.
The use of unconventional materials is central to Post’s creativity. These materials, often overlooked or considered temporary, carry a certain vulnerability that tells a story about time. They are soft, fragile, and constantly changing, qualities that Post embraces rather than hides. This approach allows her to explore themes like impermanence and the beauty within what is fleeting.
Unconventional Materials and Their Stories
Post’s fascination with unconventional materials began in her childhood, surrounded by fabrics, patterns, and sewing machines due to her mother’s sewing classes. This environment instilled in her a deep appreciation for making things by hand and a respect for the stories that materials carry. Over time, her curiosity expanded beyond textiles to include a wide range of everyday materials.
“I’ve always been drawn to materials that already carry a story,” Post explains. “Making things by hand simply felt like a natural language to me.” She is particularly interested in materials that are often overlooked or considered temporary. Marshmallows, discarded textiles, worn objects—they all have a certain vulnerability that immediately tells us something about time. These materials are soft, fragile, imperfect, and constantly changing, qualities that Post embraces in her work.
For Post, the material is never just a material. It already contains meaning. Through working with it intensively—sometimes for months—she gets to know it intimately. This slow process of discovery becomes a way of thinking, allowing the material to guide the artistic process rather than the other way around.
The Challenges of Working with Unconventional Materials
Working with unconventional materials presents unique challenges, especially when scaling up to large installations. Unlike traditional materials, there are no instruction manuals for working with thousands of marshmallows or discarded textiles. Each project starts as a research experiment, requiring Post to develop new techniques and construction methods.
“The biggest challenge is that unconventional materials don’t come with instructions,” Post notes. “There isn’t a handbook explaining how thousands of marshmallows behave over time, or how discarded textiles can become a monumental architectural installation.” Because many of the materials she uses are soft, fragile, or unpredictable, she has to invent construction methods that allow them to exist on a much larger scale while still preserving their character.
This uncertainty can be both frustrating and exciting. It forces Post to stay curious and to collaborate with the material rather than trying to control it completely. This openness is also connected to what the work is about. Life isn’t fixed either. Things change, age, and sometimes resist our plans. Post’s materials constantly remind her of that, and she embraces this impermanence in her art.
The Creative Process and Studio Environment
Post’s studio is a place of discovery, functioning as a workshop, laboratory, and playground all in one. It is filled with mountains of textiles, ceramic tests, color samples, prototypes, and half-finished experiments. There are always materials lying around waiting to be combined in unexpected ways. Post does not separate thinking from making; most ideas emerge while her hands are busy.
“I don’t separate thinking from making very much. Most ideas emerge while my hands are busy,” Post shares. “The atmosphere is quite analogue. I love simple techniques and working directly with materials. Spending time with them teaches me things that I could never discover by sketching alone.” The space is always changing, but there is almost always a wall filled with boxes of sorted candies.
Post’s creative process is deeply influenced by her upbringing. Growing up in a creative environment with her mother teaching sewing classes instilled in her a value for making with her hands and a respect for the stories that materials carry. This early experience shaped how she relates to materials, approaching them with curiosity and respect rather than forcing an idea onto them.
“Rather than forcing an idea onto a material, I’m interested in discovering what becomes possible through working with it closely,” Post explains. “There’s also something very hopeful about making. You take ordinary things—sometimes things that have been discarded—and imagine a completely different future for them.” This philosophy has stayed with her throughout her practice, guiding her to create art that is both beautiful and meaningful.
