2022 Highlight
05.07 - 06.12
In the Name of Love, Courage & Hope
YANG Zong-Jia
Solo Exhibition
While change can be viewed as the essence of ceramics, the artist s also realizes that his perspectives is shifted throughout his artistic journey – what was considered flaws and wounds, both artistically and personally, can now be regarded treasurable marks of significant growing experiences.
Mizuiro Workshop is delighted to present “In the Name of Love, Courage & Hope”, a solo exhibition by Taiwanese artist YANG Zong-Jia (b.1992, Taiwan).Over the years the concept of “Magic Girl” from Japanese animation that any ordinary girl/person can “transform” by the aid of magic power to have courage and strength to overcome difficulties has been the inspiration to many fragile hearts. And YANG Zong-Jia was not an exception.
The title of the exhibition derives from Japanese magical animation “Akazukin Chacha,” YANG mentions that “This animation has accompanied me throughout my childhood. Because there are also male characters I was allowed to watch it.” In “Akazukin Chacha,” love, courage and hope are the 3 elements of the protagonists’ magical spell for them to launch transformation.
Feature Article on Ceramics Now
Yang Zong-Jia: In the Name of Love, Courage & Hope at Mizuiro Workshop, Taiwan
YANG Zong-Jia (b.1992, TW) is known for his talent in bringing a sensitive softness out of the nature of clay. He received 1st prize for the sculpture distinction at National Art Exhibition 2019, which is considered the most reputable art prize of Taiwan. His work often deals with the primitive innocence of life in comparison with the conflict confronted growing up.
YANG mixes ceramic works with a wide range of alternative materials and means such as porcelain, crystal, Kintsugi or even knitted cloth and to construct a new state of innocence and vulnerability.
In this new solo exhibition, the artist conveys his emotions of love, courage and hope within a series of new works that explore different possibility of twisted clay and porcelain combining various media such as textile, epoxy, stone, and so on.
All YANG’s works start from mixing and twisting clay / porcelain of different colors (known as twisted technique) with the intention of forming a kind of uncertainty in his making -the twisted clay and porcelain, after fired in high temperature, often results in cracking on the plastic body.
Instead of mending the cracks, YANG takes the opportunity to turn them into meaningful marks by employing Japanese traditional Kintsugi as a response to philosopher Gilles Deleuze’s ‘Becoming.’ Ceramics, like everything else, is constantly changing.
