Ceramic is the main medium of my practice and in the process, I work with clay. Clay is versatile and malleable to work with, subsequently unchangeable and brittle when it dries up. The techniques of handling the medium are one of the factors that inspire me to create. The possibility of clay taking shapes of different patterns, being able to duplicate and join, leads to endless experimentation with the arrangement of forms.
I enjoy observing forms and examining utilitarian objects for the way it is shaped. By constantly juxtaposing or integrating objects I find interest in, I remove their functionality and present its form as the focus. As a result, manifesting each component of an object in their individual function.
I love to study the artefacts in Museums, to find out about the history and the objects people used or displayed for appreciation. Bewitched by the collections of bygones, I would fantasize myself traversing the past, possessing the artefacts. How and why they were made? How do I utilize or wear them?
The objects I have seen or folk tales I have heard of, or both often coalesce surreally into a vision. I will then unpack its relation to daily life, alter and make sense of it by forging an allegory of my own. In a sense, I am also bridging the past and present into conversation and play.
My practice is somewhat fluid; the current work might be influenced by the prior, yet a totally different direction. I would not see them as a development of ideas. Rather, they flourish as individual projects, sometimes with their on-going series.
I would say my works correspond to my experiences. What is my interest at this juncture?
Currently, I am collecting vintage moulds of pastries. I am captivated by their symbolic nature and the folks’ humble crafts. In order to unveil clearly and preserve them, I pressed clay, adjusted the thickness and clarity to form a plaster mould. This allows the pressed clay to be extracted easily from the mould and thus, repeated with an arrangement to envisage allegories.
Shayne Phua 