Artist Statement
The main concept of my work is to express my feeling of being between somewhere – as a newcomer from Asia, as a person who has a slight physical frame but who holds an unseen boldness inside of her, and as a traditionally trained ceramic artist who is now trying to embrace her originality.
I create large scale works with groggy red clay to express my boldness. At the same time, I also create finely detailed work from porcelain that looks very fragile and elegant next to the rough red clay. These contrasting forms reflect the juxtaposition of boldness and softness that also resides within me.
I use traditional techniques such as throwing large pieces on a traditional kick wheel and making large slabs on the floor, both of which require tremendous physical work. By tiring my body, I can let go of the negative emotion and frustration that has built-up inside of me from the struggles I face between two cultures and two languages. Then I sit down and produce hundreds or thousands of small objects to process my thoughts that were scattered around.
By doing all of the above, I create my own language with clay where I hope the audience can experience my story.
During this exhibition, Touch the Conversation – Betweeness, viewers are invited to touch the pieces to feel my true-self and to re-place small porcelain objects to make their own patterns in the gallery space. I see this direct interaction between the works – which I’ve fully put myself into – and the audience as a way of having an authentic conversation without words.