Yen Qin —Tall Dao Vase

Made with a blend of South Australian terracotta and stoneware from Bendigo, Victoria, the piece is layered with porcelain, glaze, pigment. Watertight.

My pieces tell a story of both shame and reverence for my Chinese heritage. They begin as perfectly wheelthrown vessels inspired by traditional Chinese vases, which are then manipulated and vandalised; their shapes deformed, graffiti carved into the surface, and chaotic layers of glaze are applied in deliberate acts of restrained destruction. These acts symbolise the lifelong erasure and suppression of my culture as a survival tactic whilst growing up in a Western society. However, the forms remain refined and speak to my attempts to reclaim and regain a sense of pride for my culture, a culture that just so happens to have produced the most significant innovations in ceramic history. By incorporating the colour blue, these pieces also represent contemporary and abstract interpretations of traditional blue and white Chinese Ming Dynasty porcelain.

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Yen Qin is the studio practice of Georgina Yen Qin Lee, an emerging ceramicist based in Naarm/Melbourne. Georgina uses the medium of ceramics to explore her personal experience as an Australian-born Chinese Malaysian, where feelings of both shame and reverence for her culture permeate through her work. All works are made by Georgina and fired in her studio in Abbotsford, Victoria. She has degrees in Mechanical Engineering (Monash University), Art History (University of Melbourne) and Visual Art (Victorian College of the Arts). She developed her ceramic practice at the School of Clay and Art under Neville French.

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Material: South Australian terracotta, stoneware from Bendigo, Victoria, porcelain, glaze, pigment

Dimensions: approx. 27 x 15 x 15cm