Gerbrand Burger is interested in both technological innovations in the processing of materials and the old traditional and manual way of processing. The two can create a field of tension, but they can also complement each other. Technological innovation and age-old knowledge of crafts are both essential in order to achieve a sustainable and durable relationship with (raw) materials. For the works Strata #1 & #2 for example, Burger has made handmade glazed ceramic plates, cut with a water jet cutting technique.
Burger has assembled the cut-out ceramic parts together with CNC-milled and handmade wooden parts into spatial sculptures. Clay and wood are both ancient, natural materials that require a fundamentally different way of forming and shaping. Clay is built up, from hand-formed spheres or rolls, whereas with wood the form is liberated from the solid log. The more recent techiniques of milling and water jet cutting are unique to our time, and bring their own character of form to the work.