Qiān Jīn: Jia, 2024
Crocheted and melted nylon
52cmH x 20cmW
This vase is part of the installation Qiān Jīn, featuring 4 vases inspired by ceramic glaze and the willow-leaf shaped vase. They are named after the first 4 of 10 Celestial Stems, the ancient Chinese ordinal system.
The original willow-leaf vases in ancient China were often plain, with a focus on their elegant shape and beautiful glaze colour. This vase has only slight textures on its base and neck, to bring attention to the different reds blooming on its surface. Mono-colour yarn of red, orange, and pink were switched in and out at random to form a pixel pattern resembling glaze when viewed from afar, inspired by the coveted ‘peach-bloom’ and sang de boeuf colours.
The melting was carefully controlled to form an almost barnacle-like formation rather than a continuous hole. Charring on the surface forms silvery ash dots that create almost a sheen, set in the glossy nylon, and resembling the skin of a red grouper.