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Volunteering
- International Ceramics Festival, Aberystwyth (ICF)
I have been volunteered at ICF in the summer of 2023 for a few days. The experience there has led me to further understand where I am searching for my practice. The festival has invited some potters and ceramicists as guests to do talks and demonstrations and has mainly promoted traditional pottery skills within the festival's events. I have met some ceramicists that I admire and joined some workshops I had wished to join, the special highlight is the kiln building workshop, I have learnt a lot. Unfortunately, I rarely get inspired about how will I develop my L6 project. Through this experience in ICF, I realized I am not very interested in traditional pottery skills like I was before, when I started to think about my future practice, I wish to have more conceptual and innovative ideas with the medium of ceramics.
- Esea Contemporary, Manchester
In the May of 2023, I have been volunteered with Esea Contemporary in Manchester. The gallery specialises in presenting and platforming artists and art practices that identify with and are informed by East and Southeast Asian cultural backgrounds. I found that is quite interesting to have a similar cultural background with the gallery, so I wish to volunteer there to get connections with them. While assisting the team in the gallery to work on some administration work, I have learnt about event planning, how to curate an exhibition, and how to talk with the public. This experience has led me to consider gallery curating-related positions in the future. Also, through this experience, I have understood more about the artistic field.
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Competitions
- Cockpit RSCeramic Award
I have applied for the Cockpit RSCeramic Award. Unfortunately, my application has not been successful. The reasons I wanted to apply are because I wish to have a studio space to continue my practice after graduation, and also, as Cockpit is a large craft community that has a lot of craftspeople involved, I think I can make some great connections there. Even though I have failed to get the award, I have understood that I could still find more similar art communities to join after graduation. At the same time, improve my practice to have a stronger application next time.
- ICF Mino 24, Japan
I have considered that my practice is more about experimenting, conceptual, and artistic practice. Therefore I want to apply to different competitions that would fit my aim and to gain more experience. ICF Mino is a ceramics competition open to all, also it is free to apply, so I want to try to submit my work for it. The deadline for application is 31-1-2024, so I will have plenty of time to prepare my portfolio. That would be great if I could get into this and have a chance to exhibit in Japan.
- Cor Unum Design Contest Grow 2023-24
I want to design a body of work and try to submit my application for Cor Unum. The design contest theme is very fascinating, I think that would be a great chance to expand my creative ideas. Also, it is very student-friendly and that would be great to get a prize after this.
- BCB Fresh 2025
I will apply to BCB Fresh 2025, even though it still has one to two years before the exhibition, it is still a great competition to look at. BCB Fresh fits my goal very much, as they have promoted some more concept-based, and broad range of ceramic works, if I could get in, that would be very helpful for my practice journey.
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Internship/ Residency programmes
- EKWC artist residency
- Guldagergaard Internship
-Glasgow Ceramics Studio- Graduate Internship
I want to apply to these three internship and residency programmes after my graduation. First of all, I think the Glasgow Ceramics Studio's Graduate Internship is the most suitable for me to apply, it is graduate-friendly, and it is in the UK, which will make more easier for me to adapt to. They also paid a living wage of salary, which is great because I will need to be able to support my living while I still want to have a studio space to continue my practice.
Second, the Guldagergaard Internship is also a great choice, similar offer to the Glasgow Ceramics Studio. Also, I could get a chance to experience life in Denmark, which will be very helpful for my creative journey.
Thirdly, artist residency at EKWC, EKWC is a very well-known place for international ceramic artists to enhance their creative journey, one of the best parts that attracts me is they provide advanced equipment, like mega kiln, and have guidance support from the staff for artist's projects. But also I am considering applying after I am more stable with my practice, not right after my graduation, as I need to pay for the fee to reside there.
- 7 Spot pottery
7 Spot Pottery is a pottery studio in Manchester. I wish to get some pottery studio working experience so I emailed them one or two months ago asking if they will need any help in the studio. One or two months later, I received their email and said I could consider doing a labour exchange of studio time to work there. But after I have been to Yellowhammer and experienced a bit of working in the pottery studio, at this time, I think I would rather spend more studio time in the university's studio to continue my project. Therefore I told them maybe I could do that in the future but not at the moment.
-Yellowhammer
Yellowhammer is our course tutor Joe's studio. Two other coursemates and I have been to the place and spent some time mixing glazes, throwing off the hump etc. That was a great experience to be in an independent self-run studio and understand more about how it runs.
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Collaboration
I had a conversation with Matt in our course, about how our works have seemingly resonated together. My pieces of glaze are very much like pieces of stones or some natural creatures. While putting my work beside Matt's casting glass of stones, they have a very interesting interaction. On the other hand, Matt has displayed his glass as stacking stones, while I also have a stacked glaze tower similar to stacking stones. We both think our project theme and the use of material have a similar connection, and there is a lot of potential for future collaboration.
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Artists Talk
I have been to 'Clay in Conversation 6: Time' in London. Rebecca Appleby and Aneta Regal, both ceramicists that I admire, presented their creative journey, and had conversations with audiences, on the theme of 'Time'. One thing to highlight, is I have learnt a lot about some series of works that I have never known of Rebecca, which is very inspiring. Through their talks, I have also learnt about the importance of presentation skills. I realized the context and layout of the presentation, can lead the audience to be more interested in the artist's work.
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Masaomi Yasunaga solo exhibition at Lisson Gallery
In November 2023, I went to Masaomi Yasunaga solo exhibition 'Clouds in the Distance' at Lisson Gallery in London. He is an experimental Japanese sculptor who adopted glaze as the primary material rather than clay, also combining it with raw elements like whole rocks, metal and glass powders. His work is one of my favourites and I am so honoured to see them in real. He chose to work with glaze as his main material which is very inspiring for me to further research his work as that is what I am achieving in my practice. The exhibition is also very aesthetically curated, ranging over 80 different types of works across the gallery on two separate floors, I have got so much inspiration on how could I present my works to the audience in the future.
These wall panel pieces especially catch my eye, I wish to present my pieces hanging on the wall, and these are some great examples to be inspired by. Also, the shape of these wall panels is very like an archaeological site.
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BCB 2023
In October 2023, I went to the British Ceramics Biennial in Stoke-On-Trent. The exhibition has a lot to see, I have also accidentally joined a tour led by the curator, she talks through all the award pieces, which is very helpful for me to understand more about the artworks. All of the pieces have a strong cultural concept behind them. This leads me to think about how can I apply my interests and cultural background to my L6 project. This exhibition has inspired me a lot on the conceptual aspects, I wish to take part in BCB in the future as well. One of the things I want to highlight about the exhibition is Copper Sounds' synthesis sound installation, the sound has lightened up the whole exhibition space, making it more enjoyable while walking through the exhibition. I also really like the sunlight that spots on the pieces, the light and shadows have enhanced the curation of the pieces.
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Artist Research that Informs My Practice
Takuro Kuwata
Takuro Kuwata's work during the 'Strange Clay: Ceramics in Contemporary Art' exhibition in December 2022 in London was a transformative experience that significantly informed my artistic practice. Kuwata's installation sculptures, characterized by bold and extreme colours, seemingly melting jelly-like materials captured in motion, and the unconventional use of thick glaze, challenged my preconceptions about ceramic. The initial confusion surrounding the materiality of these sculptures and the debate sparked within me about their aesthetic significance fascinated me deeply. While some might perceive these works as unconventional or even 'ugly,' I found inspiration in Kuwata's ability to flip traditional norms and push the material to its extremes, creating something truly innovative. His work has profoundly influenced my approach to ceramics, introducing me to the concept of reverse thinking, transcending conventional expectations. Kuwata's fearless exploration of the material's boundaries resonated with my practice, encouraging me to challenge norms and explore innovative possibilities within the realm of ceramics.
Stephen Creech
Stephen Creech's glaze-only piece 'Nerifoami' immediately captivated me with its confusing materiality, prompting questions about its composition and creation. Creech's focus on experimenting with glaze as the primary material marked a departure from conventional ceramic practices, pushing the boundaries of what glaze could achieve. His approach to reverse thinking, viewing glaze not as an accessory but as the central and sole material in his pieces, sparked a realization of the untapped possibilities within glaze. Inspired by Creech's innovative approach, I delved into further research and experimentation, discovering his technique of transforming foam glaze into a clay-like state for sculptural constructions. In my understanding, Stephen Creech has done a lot of scientific experimentation and is willing to embrace failures and successes, this has then influenced my practice, grows an experimental spirit in me and a broader perspective on ceramics.
Chloe Monks
I had a personal interview with Chloe Monks. Chloe Monks has profoundly influenced my artistic practice through her innovative approach to glaze as a primary material. In our conversation, she described her journey of self-discovery and material exploration, emphasizing her fascination with glaze as a means to break free from symbolic constraints associated with ceramic forms. Monks's transformative exploration of glaze, evolving from decorative surface qualities to a profound integration within her work, inspired me to reconsider the possibilities of this medium. The concept of 'formless,' drawn from Yves Klein and Rosalind Kraus's book, further expanded my thinking, challenging traditional notions of form and structure in art. Monks's intentional balance between control and spontaneity, evident in her 'Continuation of Motions' series, influenced my desire to capture the fluidity of glaze in motion while seeking meaning and a sense of belonging within forms and structures. Her emphasis on balance, not just visually but within the dynamic interplay of process and chemistry, resonates deeply with my evolving artistic exploration of glaze as my sole material.
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Exploration with AI
Al Generated Hong Kong and Manchester street view
I have used Midjourney to generate some images of Hong Kong and Manchester. While signage is one of the signature icons of Hong Kong street view, I added the keyword 'signage' to the Midjourney description, generated the images and found that AI is making up some languages that are not Cantonese, or any other languages. For me, that is 'AI language'. Another interesting fact is if a non-Cantonese person looks at those words, they wouldn't know that are not real Cantonese words, AI has tricked people's assumptions.
Furthermore, I have also generated Manchester's street view with signages, even though it is not very common in Manchester, but that's nice to see AI has also translated English into nonsense. And to see how Manchester looks in AI's way.
Hong Kong street view
Manchester, UK street view
Click below to continue my making journey in L6 Unit X...
