ceramic, soil, concrete, mortar, rebar

W244 x L244 x H173 (cm) / W96 xL96 xH68 (inch)

2022

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Franconia Sculpture Park, Minnesota, USA

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supported by Yoshino Gypsum Art Foundation

Fountain is a sculpture which consists of about 1000 bricks that I produced by hand, using a very laborious press-mold process, during the residency at Franconia Sculpture Park. The bricks made out of clay, and the engobe I made with the soil from Franconia. I then used the method of pit fire for firing the bricks with local materials so that each brick has a unique surface from the chemical reaction of carbonized woods, plants and Franconia’s soil.

For this piece I took a new approach to fit my work into the wild environment in Minnesota, by using press mold technique with clay and wooden molds, instead of her typical slip casting technique with slip (liquid porcelain) and plaster molds.

As for the title, Fountain refers the work from Marcell Duchamp with the same title and also I incorporate the idea of Shakkei (borrowed scenery), which is the principle of incorporating background landscape into the composition of East Asian garden design, reflecting both Eastern and Western culture. As the sands and rocks in Japanese garden express rivers and seas, I anticipate the audience to perceive water from the piece.