Mingshu Li: Where Air Flows, 2019-2023
At the center of my artistic practice are ceramic sculptures built around two core themes: “holes” and “airflow.” These technical elements become metaphors for broader artistic and existential explorations. Technically, holes allow air to escape from inside of clay sculptures during the firing process. This airflow prevents the internal air pressure from causing the sculpture to crack or explode under extreme heat in the kiln. While typically placed discreetly at the base or hidden in corners, these holes in my work take on greater significance.
Historically, when human beings started to produce wood-fired containers, they controlled the airflow to influence the final outcome, leaving visible traces of fire on the ceramic surface. Even in the electric kilns, air continues to circulate, interacting with each piece. In this way, a hole in a sculpture function much like an umbilical cord, connecting the air inside the form with the air in the kiln, mirroring the way a fetus receives oxygen through the mother.
I embrace the materiality of clay in its broadest sense, continually exploring diverse techniques and approaches to shaping it. The clay extruder is a tool seamlessly merging “holes” and “airflow” in one fluid motion: extrusion. As clay meets the extruder, its reaction shows its inherent strength. Air bubbles burst within, etching airflow tales onto the tubular form. These tubes, whether shaped by hand or through the extruder, are constant elements throughout my works. They are like threads weaving and connecting the concepts together, building the skeleton for my works, waiting to be filled with flesh and life.
Captions
- Black Form: Where Air Flows, 2023, stoneware, 43x42x60 cm
- Black Form: Where Air Flows, 2023, stoneware, 43x42x60 cm
- Blue Form: Where Air Flows #pp, 2023, stoneware, 53x41x15 cm
- Gray Form: Where Air Flows, 2020, stoneware, porcelain and stains, 46x53x47 cm,
- Reduction Tube Shape, 2019, stoneware, 45x47x85 cm
- Wheat Tube Shape, 2021, porcelain and stains, 28x33x46 cm, photo by Alf-Georg Dannevig
- Black Tubes’ Form #3, 2022, stoneware and glaze, 24x20x23 cm
- Blue Tubes’ Form #PP, 2023, porcelain, stains and glaze, 48x30x35 cm
- Green Tubes’ Form #PP, 2023, porcelain, stains and glazes, 33x25x24 cm
- Pink Tubes’ Form #pp, 2023, porcelain and glazes, 58x39x41 cm, photo by Kamil Kak
- White Tubes’ Form #3, 2022, porcelain and glazes, 44x30x28 cm
- Blue Tubes’ Form #2, 2022, stoneware and glaze, 40x34x34 cm
