Showcase

Twist

Naiwen Zhang

As a graphic designer, he is good at typesetting, storyboards, video, print and photograph techniques. He has brought these into his practice though typographical work, structural layouts and forms.

As a ceramic artist, he creates tableware, ceramic paper and lamps, aiming to push the boundaries of ceramics. He is keen to explore the properties of the material itself to achieve his desired goals. He has made ceramic paper to draw audience's attention and reflect the gap between prints and artworks. He also made ceramic lamps to showcase the properties of clay and demonstrate a balance between form and function.

As a graphic designer, he is good at typesetting, storyboards, video, print and photograph ...

Ceramics often deform during the firing process, and this deformation is a natural random challenge. My work embraces that challenge in the black and white clay itself.The forms are made by squeezing and scratching, creating a random texture. The ceramics then twist, collapse and crack in the firing kiln, giving form to the unpredictable. The lamp light expresses the changes undergone by the clay.

Final work

Three ceramic tubes with glowing lights inside
The heights are 2 m, 1.8 m, and 1.6 m.

It consists of three lamps, the heights are 2 m, 1.8 m, and 1.6 m.

And each one is made individually.

Research and process

Extruding clay

Extruding clay

Extruding clay is a process that is prone to failure. The clay must be of the right moisture, adhesion, and weight to make a very long extruded clay tube.

There is a rotating hole on the ceramic column

Open the hole

Cutting rotating holes in the clay tube allows the ceramic to twist during firing.

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Twist

Ceramics often deform during the firing process, and this deformation is a natural random challenge. My work embraces that challenge in the black and white clay itself.The forms are made by squeezing and scratching, creating a random texture. The ceramics then twist, col...

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