Clouds are important elements and motifs in Chinese culture and mythology, created between heaven and earth, representing vehicles for traveling between spaces. This work explores the movement of clouds, the fluidity of nature, and my diasporic experience moving from one culture to another.

Nature continuously changes. It moves, as I have moved. Mountains, clouds, and rivers coalescing from memories of my hometown, also speak of different relationships to place. Recalling and abstracting these elements in my memory gives me the ability to translate, imagine, and graft them together into a poetic ceramic moment.

I reference the scholar’s rock in Chinese culture. Its meaning is “respected stones.” Unlike the traditional manner of displaying the rock on top of a wooden base, ‘Given’ is installed against the wall, with a white pedestal that balances the rock in this unique corner.

Until I moved away from home, I had little conscious appreciation of my environment. ‘Loop’ is not only a representation of the actual landscape; it mirrors the feelings of respect and appreciation for my past, culture and tradition. It’s a process of seeking a deeper understanding of my identity.

‘Loop’ indicates no beginning or end, but places an emphasis on the path itself. Amid the dislocation and ambiguity of being neither here nor there, I anchor myself by tracing my past and taking inspiration from the early memory of my hometown (Guilin)’s landscape after a long departure.