21-3=18 Celadon Bowls
Initial Questions
What happens when you ask for something out of the ordinary? You get variety.
The craftsmen we worked with during a residency in Jingdezhen are accustomed to throwing dozens of vessels in exactly the same shape. This repetition allows them to master a form while maintaining precision. For this project, only 20 bowls were requested in a somewhat unfamiliar shape—without providing a model. The result: 21 bowls that are not identical, yet each echoes the intended design. They embody a process of learning and experimentation.
What catches my eye in a place where written and spoken language mean nothing to me?
In China you can see figurative images with symbolic meaning everywhere in the streetscape. Fish, for example, symbolize prosperity and good fortune and therefore often recur in decorations — such as on fishbowls at restaurant entrances.
During many walks through Jingdezhen my attention gradually shifted from these traditional motifs to the power lines and the stamped phone numbers visible throughout the streets. To me they symbolized human connection — a visible network linking lives together. Imperfect, sometimes broken off, but endlessly continuing.
During many walks through Jingdezhen my attention gradually shifted from these traditional motifs to the power lines and the stamped phone numbers visible throughout the streets. To me they symbolized human connection — a visible network linking lives together. Imperfect, sometimes broken off, but endlessly continuing.
2012. porcelain.
