Identity isn’t really something you can grasp. Even if you could, I suspect you wouldn’t actually want to keep hold of it. It’s often wrapped up in complexities related to memory, perception and generational trauma. Plus, it’s always in flux, so once the moment has passed, it’s probably time to readjust anyway.
All of the works in Searching chords have evolved intuitively. I’ve followed impulses instead of purposefully planning. Oftentimes the work wants to become something in spite of rational or intellectual judgement. Most of the time the work doesn’t “make sense” for the longest time, but one keeps faith in instinct and process. I wonder if it’s a bit like how dreams help us process memories and experiences.
This means that some works combine ideas or forms that wouldn’t normally go together. In making some of the pieces I’ve blatantly disobeyed the rules I’ve come to know working with porcelain and glaze, or at least I’ve played with the processes to do with the mixing of the clay and the timing in manipulating the forms. Some forms have been subject to a bruising or tumble. Many have undergone processes of repair or refinement when green or have layers of glaze, lustre or tassels. In any case the body of work presented has felt like an ongoing discovery at every stage.
Susie Choi, July 2024
Keeping Score
