Shuture Ancestors (未来先人) contains four anachronistic ceramic face vessels inspired by the bronze masks discovered at the Sanxingdui Ruins in my home province Sichuan, China. Dating back over 3000 years, Sanxingdui is the most significant archaeological site of the ancient Shu kingdom.
This lost civilisation is riddled with mystery. Where did it come from? Why do the figures have exaggerated appearances? Why do some artefacts bear an uncanny resemblance to modern items? Taking the myth as a point of departure, I want to reimagine an alternative reality where my ancestors were time travellers from the future.
Using wheel-throwing and hand-building techniques, I tried to mimic the iconic forms of Sanxingdui masks. A layer of green stains was applied to the clay body to create a coherent green undertone. Over 10 glaze recipes were used to juxtapose colours and textures, including metallic bronze, crater, weathered bronze, aqua, cobalt blue, satin-matte red, stony matte green, firecracker, green underglaze, and clear glaze. To accentuate the futuristic and sci-fi look, I added a digital ceramic decal containing an image of an electronic circuit board and applied gold and platinum lustres onto the glazed surface. Through these vessels, I want to celebrate my cultural roots and
explore the hybridity of contemporary ceramics.
explore the hybridity of contemporary ceramics.
