Mono no aware 物哀之美 Ceramic art by Amanda TONG & Jun MATSUMURA A duo exhibition 26.11 - 24.12.2022

Presented by Contemporary Crafts Centre

About the Exhibition

“the pathos of things”

the bittersweet realisation of how things never stay the same and change constantly;

the awareness that everything in existence is temporary

IMPERMANENCE

in response to the pandemic

learning to slow down and savour every moment

tea as a medium to connect with ourselves, our senses & mother nature

teaware as a tool to facilitate thought, reflection and dialogue

哀是憐憫，也是感嘆、讚揚。是內心直接發出的聲音。

四季推移，人事無常，沒有不變不滅，也沒有永遠的安定。

知物之心。唯美的物哀，就是認識生命局限後的淨化與超脫。

「無常」。

後疫情時代，我們學會放慢，明白事物稍縱即逝，珍惜那片刻的美，就會找到安心。

自古以來，人以「茶」放鬆心情，重拾五感丶重投山川草木。

今次我們以「茶具」會友，希望大家都可藉着使用這些「器物」回歸初心、自覺、對話。

View Exhibition Catalogue and Price List

Meet the Artist 藝術家分享

Speaker: Amanda Tong 湯凱恩

Time: 10.12.2022 (Saturday) 2:30 - 4:30pm

Venue: Contemporary Crafts Centre

Shop H, G/F Hollywood Building, 186 Hollywood Road (Entrance at Upper Station Street), Sheung Wan

Language: Cantonese (Supplemented in English) 以廣東話進行

This is a Free-of-Charge event 費用全免

The artist Amanda TONG will be meeting participants to share her thoughts on ‘mono no aware’, a bittersweet realisation towards constant changes, through her creations showcased in this exhibition. We invite you to this sharing session to understand more about her life in Japan over the last two years, her observations, the cultural experiences, and how these inspire her works.

藝術家湯凱恩將親臨展覽的分享環節，解釋「物哀」新作背後的創作理念與製作過程，及對世事無常的感悟。過去兩年，她在日本生活、創作、觀察等的歷程、如何為她帶來創作靈感。

About Amanda TONG

Having trained in Ceramic Design at Central Saint Martins College of Art & Design, Amanda's approach to practice is driven by concepts, research and material processes. With a real passion for the material, Amanda graduated in 2014 with a First Class Honours and went on to establish her own business as a ceramics designer-maker. She is currently based in Japan. Her works have been exhibited internationally in Hong Kong, London, Japan, New York, Poland and Singapore.

Being born in an Eastern culture from Hong Kong but also being educated in the West has provided her a unique perspective on how design can be used, combining with a dedication in craftsmanship. The stories behind different cultures and traditional rituals are so intriguing that she often finds herself delving into the ‘why’ and the ‘how’ - and eventually they all serve as inspirations to her design work.

Maintaining a persistent and positive approach is key to her practice, and it’s an energy that she wishes to deliver through her works.

陶藝家湯凱恩於倫敦中央聖馬丁藝術與設計學院修讀陶瓷設計課程後，她的陶藝創作源於概念、研究、材質的處理。她於 2014 年以一等榮譽畢業後，忠於對陶藝的熱愛，建立了個人陶瓷設計品牌。現居於日本，她的作品曾在香港、倫敦、日本、紐約、波蘭和新加坡等地展出。

湯凱恩出生於具東方文化特色的香港，卻在西方接受教育。這孕育了她對設計的獨特視角，她對工藝的熱忱，與不同文化和傳統互動，這些閱歷都驅使她保持探索及追尋的動力，成為她設計作品的靈感來源。

保持堅持和積極的態度是她創作的關鍵，也是她希望作品可傳遞的能量。

“An important element of these new works “Mono no aware” is that the results were always unpredictable, resulting in 100% unique pieces. The natural dyes used here will evolve with time and use. Today’s look will be different from yesterday’s – it’s a living body of work that encourages us to observe and appreciate changes.

All the pots are hand-built (not thrown), so I felt closely connected to each piece working on the clay. They’re dyed with natural materials gathered over different seasons, e.g. sakura branches in spring, sunflower seeds in summer, sakura leaves in autumn, and ginkgo leaves in winter. The results are always unpredictable! They also celebrate my interest in growing my own food — I’ve used carrot leaves from my garden for dyeing as well.”

「這《物哀》系列的新作品的特徵，是那難以預測、獨一無二的效果。當中的天然染料也會隨時間和使用而產生變化。今天呈現的外觀和昨日的已有所不同；正好鼓勵我們欣賞事物的變化，每件作品都是富生命的。

它們都是手捏出來的（非拉胚），因此我在親手捏泥的過程中跟每一件作品都曾緊密地連結著。我在不同季節收集了天然材料製成染料，例如春天的櫻花枝、夏天的葵花籽、秋天的櫻花葉，和冬天的銀杏葉。這些效果都是難以預料的！這種做法還鼓勵了我種植的興趣——所以我也用了自己種出來的胡蘿蔔葉來染色。」

About Jun MATSUMURA

Based in Japan, Jun is a ceramic artist trained in Tajimi City CeramicsDesign Institute and Kanazawa Utatsuyama Kogei Kobo (Crafts Studio). His artworks have been exhibited in Japan, London, Paris, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and the United States.

As an artist growing up surrounded by the Japanese philosophy and subcultures, he creates work based on the practise of Kogei (Japanese traditional arts and crafts) and he uses porcelain as the medium to reflect on the delicacy of the modern culture, prompting the audience to rethink about the current situations in society and the underlying consequences. Each piece of Jun’s ceramic sculpture is lovingly carved by hand over hours to yield soft curves and the sensual feel.

日本陶瓷藝術家松村淳，曾在多治見市陶瓷設計學院和金澤卯辰山工藝工房進修陶藝。作品曾在日本丶倫敦丶巴黎丶台灣丶香港和美國展出。

松村淳於日本哲學和文化的氛圍中成長，他的創作以實踐日本傳統工藝Kogei精神為基礎，以「瓷」作為媒介，來反思現代社會文化的微妙，啟發觀眾重新思考社會當下及對未來的重重意義。松村淳的每件作品都由他親手經時雕塑，線條柔美而極富質感。

“I first experienced Chinese tea around the age of 13. My mother was interested in Chinese tea culture, and we would s pend time drinking Chinese tea together.

My interest in it grew when I visited Hong Kong a few years ago. Amanda has taken me to visit different tea shops and tea masters. It’s intriguing how different it is from Japanese tea ceremony; nevertheless, I think they share many similarities.

The best way for me to learn about Chinese tea culture was to make Chinese teaware. By designing Chinese teaware, I was able to understand more about Chinese culture, so I thought it would be interesting to create some with a Japanese twist, notably incorporating asymmetrical aspects, and some cyberpunk influences from Japanese animation.”

「我第一次接觸中國茶道是在13歲左右。媽媽對中國茶文化很著迷，我們很享受一起喝中國茶的時光。

幾年前訪港時，我對中國茶的興趣變得越來越濃厚。Amanda帶我拜訪了不同的茶館和茶葉大師。中國茶道和日本茶道的差異很讓人好奇，但我認為它們之間也存在很多相似之處。

對我而言，了解中國茶文化最好的方式就是製作中國茶具。通過設計中國茶具，我得以了解更多中國文化。因此我認為如果能創作出一些具有日本特色的中國茶具也會很有趣，特別是能融匯不對稱的審美，並加添日本動漫中的賽博朋克風格。」