Clara Spilliaert

Clara Spilliaert moved from Japan to Belgium in 2009, first studying drawing and later ceramics at LUCA School of Arts in Ghent. Expanding her practice beyond drawing, she began creating ceramic sculptures and installations.

Her work is inspired by cultural observations and reflects a deep interest in history, mythology, nature, and sexuality. Through her art, she weaves new narratives in which the lives of humans, animals, and plants are intricately intertwined.

At the invitation of RHIZOMA, Clara Spilliaert created both a multi-part, site-specific installation and a brand-new work on paper.

With her installation, Clara Spilliaert highlights at RHIZOMA a seemingly mundane yet socially charged theme by delving into the history of toilet practices.

Trianal is the name of a commonly prescribed ointment for haemorrhoids. Spilliaert discovered this remedy after experiencing painful symptoms caused by postponing going to the toilet out of shame. This personal experience evolved into an artistic exploration of the cultural and historical perceptions surrounding our natural bodily needs, interwoven with the local history of rural life in the Kempen region.

At Heemerf De Waaiberg in Kasterlee, Spilliaert became fascinated by the karkot, a space that once served as a storage room, pigsty and toilet. In the past, two pigs lived directly next to the toilet, where both human and animal waste was collected in the cesspit. The manure was then scooped out with a beerlepel (manure scoop) and spread across the fields to enrich the region’s nutrient-poor sandy soil. The pigs’ physical proximity to humans was strikingly intimate – at times, the curious animals would place their front hooves on the low partition wall while someone was using the toilet.

This symbiosis between humans, animals and the land became a key inspiration for Spilliaert. In the beerlepel, three anuses – one human, two porcine – merge in an imagined unity, giving Trianal a second, almost healing meaning. Her installation, constructed with Kempen sand within the karkot, visualizes this interconnectedness while challenging the mental barriers surrounding the subject.

During the preparations for her installation Trianal, Spilliaert also created a work on paper of the same name.

Trianal (2025)
Installation consisting of a mural painting, sand sculpture, beerlepel (manure scoop), ceramic objects
Variable dimensions