Being together in the same space and time, we nevertheless have difficulties to always acknowledge this fact that everything outside of one’s self are in mutual oscillations and are growing empathy via means that go beyond human understanding. The moments of realizing the self as part of the relationship with the outside world are often dependent on certain encounters to magically connect our acquirable perceptions to the transcendental nature. Japanese artist Kumie Tsuda’s works seem to be infinitely close to the moment of this kind of awareness, at the mean time inviting the viewers to be part of this wait in silence.
When exploring the beauty of daily and civilian use of ceramics and the ecology of ceramic making in the local culture, Wu Lou searched all the way back to the century-old dragon kiln on Maling slope, in Hubei Province. This is the last remaining dragon kiln in the local area, which used to be the main production site of ceramics for daily use. Traditionally, local farmers prepare their own clay in their spare time, use traditional rotating wheels to make pottery bodies, burn pine branches as firewood, creating a uniquely raw state of the local pottery.
Through these restoration and fine-tuning, the ceramic pieces in the “Maling Dragon Kiln” series try to connect traditional functions more openly to the needs of today’s life, allowing us to re-experience the simple beauty of these civil pottery and discover daily functions that have greater possibilities.
