Things Not Words, I-XXIV, 2025
Embossed porcelain tile with gilding and pencil inscription
Edition of 25 variants, signed and numbered
Size approx. 17 x 12 x 0.2 cm

On the occasion of the exhibition Playing with Fire: Edmund de Waal and Axel Salto, opening at The Hepworth Wakefield on 22 November 2025, we are delighted to release a series of 25 unique porcelain tiles by de Waal.

For de Waal this edition celebrates transformation - one material turning into another. It reflects the artist’s conversation with Salto, who spent his creative life thinking about metamorphosis. A few words, a piece of porcelain that lets light through, some gold. For de Waal this is enough.

I’ve always loved the idea of the mutability of things. . . . Nothing is forever. . . . There’s an inherent instability about how objects work in space.—Edmund de Waal