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Krisis - 1995 | Ceramic Installation Exhibition, Jakarta - Catalog Article
'Metaphor in Medium'
by A.J. Irianto
art curator, art critic & lecturer of Fine Art ITB
The popularity of installation, performance and multi-media works of art has blurred the distinct borders in medium classification of visual art such as painting, sculpture, graphic and ceramic. As a result, the characteristic of the medium or the material is often overlooked although admittedly, the ignorance to medium characteristic is often happened in conventional works of art (non-installation) as well. The importance of the medium characteristic is not a matter of right or wrong indeed; it is a matter of choice and necessity for the artist.
Observing Lie Fhung's installation work, one can feel that there's something different about it compared to most of the installation artworks appeared in the contemporary art world of Indonesia. She calls her installation work as "ceramic installation" - we can guess from here that in this particular installation work, ceramic as the medium plays a significant role, because usually an installation work is not presented with its medium or material mentioned along.
Clay as the main ingredient in ceramic making possesses a very special characteristic not found in other materials. Its plasticity enables it to be shaped to resemble almost anything. Sometimes this lead the artist to exploit this characteristic as far reaching as possible, or in the contrary, -- because of the clay's "submissive" property -- some artists don't realize the extent of its unique potentials. Lie Fhung does not exploit the clay nor she is ignorant of its unique properties. She moves along the rhythm of the clay's characteristic.
Lie Fhung uses porcelain clay, a type of clay which is different from others. Porcelain clay is less plastic, hence it yields more difficult handling. But after it's been fired to its mature point, porcelain is much durable than other types of ceramic. That is why it can be fashioned to be almost as thin as paper. Another distinguishing property of porcelain is when its walls are thin enough, it becomes translucent. These characteristics of being "fragile/intolerant/indulgent" in its raw state and translucent when it is mature, are the important aspects in Lie Fhung's "ceramic installation" work now being shown.
Painstakingly, with utmost care and patience, Lie Fhung created very thin layers from porcelain clay and then shaped them into simple forms resembling pieces of a heart. Thus slowly and carefully she produced tens of ceramic units with similar shapes. With uttermost precaution, she arranged those fragile ceramic units in the kiln on the prepared kaolin powder beds to prevent deformation that might occured during the firing process. This intense and careful process is necessary to point out, firstly because it is demanded by the material, and even more important, because that "process" has been deliberately appreciated and savored by the artist as an integral part of the configuration appeared in her ceramic installation work.
This experience of 'senses' in handling the porcelain clay, in the time consuming firing process, and in arranging the elements together to become an installation work is a long, integral process. For Lie Fhung, the whole process is a metaphor into the existence of human beings. It also serves as a way to contemplate the hidden realms in "the journey of life".
The floating thin porcelain pieces, the shafts of light fall through them and the dim black space create a mysterious image. What is being symbolized by Lie Fhung through this work? Obviously, only Lie Fhung understands it best. What can we do is trying to feel, to present, to be there in that mysterious space. One thing that is very clear is that the use of porcelain in this installation work is irreplaceable.
