Mingshu Li: Reforming the strawflower, 2024-2026
During an artist residency in Porsgrunn, I encountered the straw pattern (Stråmønster), a motif with a fascinating cross-cultural history that spans continents and centuries. Originally inspired by the chrysanthemum designs on Chinese blue-and-white porcelain, this pattern was simplified by Meissen porcelain manufacturers in 18th-century Germany. By the late 19th century, it had traveled through Denmark, where the Royal Copenhagen factory combined it with Japanese motifs, and eventually arrived in Norway, where it became a hallmark of Porsgrund Porcelain Factory.
The story of the straw pattern cannot be uncovered purely from an Eastern perspective, at least it was never touched upon in Chinese art history classes. It’s a story I could only understand after personally coming to Norway. Six years later, I finally recognized this strawflower. What kind of trials has it gone through, how many versions has it been changed into, and how many languages has it been mixed with? Time has draped this flower in a splendid cloak, turning its story into something romantic. But only the flower itself knows the hardships of its journey.
The story has now blended with my own language, expressed through the media and material most familiar to me in the form of ceramic sculptures. I’m using art to fill the gaps left by written records, trying to depict this journey in its entirety.
Captions
- The strawflowers’ journey #1, 2024, stoneware, glazes, adhesive, silver foil and lacquer, 24x25x25 cm
- The strawflowers’ journey #2, 2024, porcelain, glazes and stains, 23x21x20 cm
- The strawflowers’ journey #3, 2024, porcelain, glazes, adhesive, silver foil and lacquer, 30x28x22 cm
- The strawflowers’ journey #4, 2024, stoneware and glazes, 33x25x23 cm
- The strawflowers’ journey #6, 2025, stoneware and glazes, 20x31x56 cm
- Dropping seeds #1, 2025, porcelain, stoneware and glazes, 23x32x22cm
- Dropping seeds #2, 2025, porcelain and glazes, 28x33x28 cm
- The strawflowers’ journey #5, 2025, porcelain, glazes and stains, 34x28x24 cm, photo by Josef Konczak
- Dropping seeds #3, 2025, porcelain, stoneware and glazes, 28x20x20 cm
- Dropping seeds #5, 2026, porcelain and glazes, 35x32x31cm
- Still carrying blue #1, 2026, stoneware and glaze, 39x30x30 cm
- Still carrying blue #2, 2026, porcelain and glazes, 43x40x40 cm
