Universal Metaphor

Making objects is making meanings. We confer meanings on materials and objects by merging them with our history and personal psychological world. By doing this we unconsciously establish an invisible connection between the objects and our personal experience.

Originally from China, I traveled and studied in Australia, studied and taught in the United States, prior to coming to Canada.  The contemplation of genesis, transformation of cultures, and the function of art have been the main source for my work.  In creating objects I seek a spatial view to capture the basic elements of our world.  I aim to transcend cultural boundaries, political ideologies and religious dogma to metaphorically demonstrate that humanity, nature and the powers that govern the universe are intrinsically one. Each object possesses a language that is not translatable in words.  It is my hope that my objects are understood even if we speak a different language and have a different history.

Much of my work is an attempt to provide the viewer with an environment that has no confusions.  I want to create a peaceful starting point to exploring and understanding, to reclaim the meanings that have been long ignored, forgotten or lost. In a world that constantly changing with incredible leaps in technology and environment, life is full of everything except meanings.  As material prosperity has increased, serenity, peace and happiness have decreased and been replaced by fear, violence, uncertainty and the breakdown of values.  I am constantly questioning our connection to self and to each other, the meaning of peace and origin, and the essence of our knowledge and our history.

To utilize the advantages of materials, forms and surfaces is one of the most important goals in my art making.  For me, making art is a learning process of perceiving and understanding the material.  Clay as a unique material holds memories and yearns to speak for its own.  I am fascinated by the random and unexplained results produced by the interaction of artist, clay, and kiln.  It is these characteristics of clay that inspires me throughout my entire creative process.  I work with a very wide range of clay bodies.  I take every opportunity to study them and enjoyed ‘being chosen’ and challenged by them. It is my hope to achieve a true harmony with the material and to bring out its most beautiful and natural aspect.

Each idea that I choose, or perhaps the material chooses me, is for a different reason.  I try to capture a sense of volume, of color, an imprint of a moment that I experienced. These memories translate into my personal expression of form, articulated and enhanced with my own way of manipulation of clay. The idea may be changed as new possibilities occur, or as the material starts to speak for its own.

The clay bodies infuse with the glazes to become one; the colors, textures and decorations are object lessons in the beauties to be found.  I seek to make objects that delight the eye and draw the viewer close.  Although I usually work on several projects concurrently, the various bodies of work always inform or relate to each other. They make a circle to fulfill my philosophy goal.  It is an interaction of universal symbols with visually structure that I want to emphasize.  Objects and memories express the principle of harmony and energy through the lines, forms and textures.  I strive to express this through my work, to explore my interpretation of life, and describe it to others.