Land-scape

In the Chinese city of Jingdezhen, the largest concentration of ceramic studios is located in an area divided by railroad tracks. Their construction required cutting into the slopes, which brutally exposed layers of ground. This peculiar geological cross-section reveals shreds of plastic bags, sacks, and banners intertwined with shards of porcelain vessels. Here and there, vegetation is still fighting to reclaim the space. A multicoloured collage emerges, both terrifying and fascinating.

Landscape is an important theme in Chinese culture. Patterns are copied from generation to generation, and original creativity remains a rarity. This work is an attempt to faithfully recreate a Chinese landscape, but in an alternative way. Plastic waste from this location served as my medium for creating decorations on traditional porcelain forms. Under the influence of high temperature, the plastic deformed, tore, and melted across the surface of the vessel, then solidified, abruptly deprived of heat. The creative process resembled painting – by applying individual layers of synthetic coatings, I achieved a gradual saturation of colors: from blue to navy.

In the urban landscape, the earth-clay seemed helpless against the rubbish parasitising it. It was very difficult to extract the foreign elements that had entered into a toxic relationship with it. The project reverses this dynamic. The plastic will undergo a process of losing its colour and materiality, eventually dissolving into nothingness – in contrast to the porcelain object, which is marked by a guarantee of immortality. In a few, a dozen or so, or several dozen years, only white will remain – in Chinese culture a symbol of death, mourning and emptiness, whereas in European culture it symbolises innocence and purity. The work consists of four vessels. According to Chinese beliefs, the pronunciation of this number is associated with death, which is why it is usually avoided. It also has a symbolic dimension for me, as it relates to the question of the end and the consequences of humanity’s exploitation of nature.