In our solar system, the sun exerts nearly 3.43 × 1022 newtons of gravitational force to keep the earth rotating around it every 365 days to bring us the four seasons — which on average we experience around 70 to 80 times within our limited lifespan on this planet. As time goes by under the laws of the universe, we encounter various people, issues and objects to weave stories along the different stages of our lives.
On the subject of the cycle of life, ceramist Cheung Pik-wa, Renita, of JCCAC’s Moonlit Attic (L6-19) drew inspiration from the pottery wheel. Cheung first came upon ceramics in secondary school. Hooked by the sense of satisfaction in pottery making, she has embraced this medium in her artistic pursuit. Cheung attempts to recreate and reminisce her childhood memories through clay, while pondering the passage of life and the creator of all.
J：JCCAC
C：Cheung Pik-wa, Renita
A love affair with ceramics
J：We know that you completed your art training in 2016. Were you an artist prior to that?
C：Actually, I only began to devote my time in ceramics recently after my retirement, but my passion in this medium stemmed from my time in secondary school. Although ceramic classes were not given then, we had a pottery wheel at school. The teacher would let us use the wheel whenever we helped clean up after class. This was when I was first introduced to ceramics. While on the pottery wheel, my heart was filled with contentment, and I enjoyed the total immersion that brought me temporary escape from the reality.
J：Did you continue to pursue ceramics thereafter?
C：I never ceased to look for that feeling I had on the pottery wheel, not even after I started working. So I signed up for ceramic classes at a small upstairs studio in my spare time. But I had to suspend this interest later on due to increased workload.
After my retirement, I found myself having the free time to pursue this interest. So again I enrolled in ceramic classes, and found myself instantly engrossed by it — sometimes I could be pottery-making all day without rest. As time went by, I became more and more eager to delve into this medium. Seeing my passion, my instructor suggested me to pursue professional art training. I therefore enrolled in a programme co-organised by the Hong Kong Arts School and the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, Australia, to further my studies in ceramics.
J：Even though there is a good diversity of modules available for students to explore different artistic mediums, ceramics is still your ultimate favorite?
C：It is indeed. Even though I attempted other media while pursing the course, I have always preferred to express myself with clay — perhaps I am too deeply affected by the feelings I had from my early artmaking days. Besides, there are characteristics in other media that do not satisfy my creative needs. For instance, I find photography rather mechanical and painting confined to two dimensional representations.
Crafting memories with art
J：Did the academy transform your creative direction?
C：The instructors often led discussions that incite reflection on our creative direction, while giving us guidance and comments based on their observation on our module selection and preference in artmaking. This developed my artistic practice to a different direction — I used to create more practical pieces, such as ceramic cups, but my current approach focuses more on concepts than functionality.
J：What is your creative focus now?
C：One of my recurrent themes is childhood reminiscence. Take, for example, in Paper Boat, I created an array of clay boats that look like the origami ones I made as a child. In another piece, Hide Away, I made a ceramic table sculpture to recreate my childhood memory of hiding under the table to play. By recreating scenes from the past, I wish to express this nostalgia and to retrace the sentiments of the time.
J：Why are you so fascinated by the past?
C：I like to explore the root of all creation — the universe. I enjoy reading books about the universe. Despite being an atheist, I believe that there is a creator who is the reason for all things past, present and all our experiences. Some of my works attempt to raise this subject, and to encourage viewers’ reflection on the cosmic laws beyond our physical existence. For example, in my work Libretto, I created a slow-rotating vinyl record with clay, which spins in hypnotic motion. Through this, I attempt to immerse my viewers in silence and thoughts on the origin of their lives.
Progressions and joining JCCAC
J：You have graduated for slightly over two years now, what are your plans to further develop your artistic practice?
C：During my studies at the art college, my teacher once mentioned that we should not be too satisfied with our current oeuvres. This inspired me to constantly pursue new pottery-making techniques to change the stereotypical image of ceramics as an old conservative medium.
J：What do you aspire in your artistic career?
C：When I first graduated, I aspired to participate unceasingly in exhibitions because I believed it to be the only way to upkeep my relevancy and to have my works showcased. But then I changed my mind. I now prefer to spend time on developing my works before planning for exhibitions — I do not want to force myself to create just for the sake of exhibitions. Besides, I want to spend more time with my family.
J：Apart from exhibitions, do you also participate in other art activities?
C：I joined a good number of art activities since I set up my studio here at JCCAC in 2016. Now I regularly host workshops at the studio to teach various pottery skills, such as clay throwing and coloring. Through these workshops, I hope to promote this art form and its relaxing properties to the public. Furthermore, I also give art demonstrations at JCCAC Festival 2017, where I demonstrated the production of paper-ceramic sculptures; and in the JCCAC Handicraft Fair in June, I will be showing the Kintsugi technique — a traditional restoration method for broken porcelains.
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