a lover’s complaints (2024)

an honour project for the requirement for the BA degree.

ceramics, installation, poetry, publication, art direction, cinematography

In this project, my intention is to dispute the definition of relationship and how its works along us.

This project contains 3 works, and aimed to explore the relationship between power, society, human interactions and ego. In addition to the relation between the works, I would like to dig into the way it interacts with artist and audience. I visualised my imagination and understanding of relationship, at the same time, spared room for audience to take, to fill and to feel.

to be? (différence et répétition)

The installation visualised the relationship under the technique of Raku, creating personalities through different shapes and colours to the clay body. Tentatively, it is set to perform the relationship between power, society and individuals.

je pense à toi

The anthology dives into the dynamic realm of the interpersonals, using a lover's way of speaking, collecting emotions of both parties and trying to let the audience catch the intangible clues behind words. While the English section follows the rhythms of Shakespeare’s work, i.e., the ABABCC, stepping into the “I” perspective, to explore the different sentiments.

l’étranger de la plage.

This section investigates the relationship of the ego, attempting to explore self-identity and cultural identity in a Multicutural setting. Our short film is to unravel the art of compelling cinematic storytelling.

Parallel to the programme’s core, I also wanted to explore the scope of language and its interplay with other media. I experiment with ceramics, performance, sounds (reciting) , making publications, filmmaking, literature, translation, and the philosophy of language – as well as inspecting the question of what happens when the boundaries between these disciplines are blurred. I approach relationship from the perspective of literary forms such as words and poetry, but I take relationship as a material, instrument and construct as well. And explore, for example, how it communicate with narratives and solid objects, how these can take non-linguistic, non-graphics shapes and how much of a word is in fact an image or an object (and vice versa), and examine what happens when it is mixed in with other media. That makes the content of the project versatile and interesting (at least I think).

The Chinese name of the project (戀人絮語) is inspired by Barthes' A Lover’s Discourse (Fragments d’un discours amoureux) and the English name comes from Shakespeare. While Barthes's “A Lovers' Discourse” is full of nonsense, foolishness, and delirium, A Lover’s Complaint focuses on monologues, whispers and overthinking. The intricate ambiguities (or infatuation I would say) are the same as the relations of people, society and ego.

"Lovers" should not be categorised as just one single subject with certain qualities. As the subjects in this project are diverse, undefined, genderless, fluid, polyphonic, multilayered and imperfect.

1

to be?

The aim of this project focus is a practice-based study to make further exploration of the Raku ceramics, a Japanese ceramic-making technique. This project focuses on how the conditions and the environment influencing Raku ware. During the years, little discussion has been made in the social media, Raku ceramics is a method of possibilities.
Apart from the traditional pottery-making method, Raku ware is way that let the hot clay body being exposed in the air during the final process in order to get the unique glaze effect, which means, we can develop possibilities in Raku.
Glazed in the similar way, followed the same baking method, it is almost impossible to copy an identical Raku ware even using the exact glaze. Besides, during process of firing, I also tried made different adjustments to the environment (of the reactions) and external factors (with blow torch or not). In my opinion, they are experimental.
L 120mm W 40mm H 60mm
quantity: 100