Molding magic

The production of a glazed utensil — the result of the interaction between water, earth and fire — is an expression of silent beauty. Ever since the first fire was lit to turn mud into ceramic, millenniums have passed, and while that same fire and desire to make utensils burns on, the presentation of ceramic art as a way of demonstrating the magic of clay has greatly evolved.

For example, when Bai Ming, a ceramic artist and professor at Tsinghua University's Academy of Arts and Design, was preparing a special piece to be shown at a contemporary ceramic art exhibition, he opted to take an alternative approach — not to show the final product, but rather the materials and tools essential to the process.

In an installation called The Book of Body Refuse, fine clay from Jingdezhen, the ceramic art hub in Jiangxi province, is piled in a rectangular area that contains baskets, chairs, desks and other objects found in ceramics workshops.

The installation does not contain any ceramics, but embodies the same experimental means of presenting ceramic art that Bai uses in his other works, such as porcelain sculptures that sometimes reach as high as the ceiling. This approach reinforces Bai's pursuit of the poetic, calm and delicate manner of Chinese intellectuals living a lifestyle of self-reflection — a spiritual quality derived from the process of working with the clay.

The Book of Body Refuse occupies an entire showroom, alongside a video showing the installation process of the work, at Stilled Melody, an exhibition at the Tsinghua University Art Museum in Beijing.

"When looking at Jingdezhen clay, it is hard to feel either arrogance or pride," Bai says. "Instead, one can only be touched by the fine qualities of the clay."