P002 → Tile Project
I began the Tile Project in response to the unique characteristics of the exhibition space during "Unruly Clay vol. 2". Tiles, a ubiquitous building material, represent an industrial use of ceramics. The base clay is moulded and compressed to form the tile, which is then dried, glazed, and fired — a process not unlike traditional ceramics. My meticulous nature naturally gravitates towards the uniformity and perfection of industrial goods. The inevitable warping of hand-crafted tiles during drying is something I find hard to accept. So, I reached out to a tile manufacturer with the intent of procuring unglazed tiles and glazing them myself. Through tests, I found that applying glaze directly onto white tiles yielded far superior results.
I often find myself pondering over the metrics by which we gauge the worth of ceramic art. Must it be entirely handmade to be appreciated? If machines are involved in certain steps of the process, with the ceramic artist only intervening later, can the work still be attributed solely to the artist? Simultaneously, I reflect on my role as a human. What differentiates the creations birthed by my hands from those churned out by machines? Standard tiles typically embody repetitive patterns in a regimented layout. Machines excel in such predictable reproductions. Yet, the essence of humanity is manifest in our sudden bursts of creativity and the diverging thought processes that ensue. How does one encapsulate such fleeting, dynamic ideation? The nuanced gradient resulting from airbrushing the glaze, the colour variations from overlapping different glazes, an impromptu decision to add another layer, or the spray gun tilting just slightly — each meticulously recorded on a tile, encapsulating the ever-evolving surge of inspiration, contemplation, uncertainty, and second-guessing during its creation.
Contrary to typical small coloured tiles, the larger tiles provide a more suitable canvass for subtle colour gradations, evoking memories of the ever-changing hues of the sky at various times of the day. They're akin to pages of a calendar, where the continuum of time is segmented by dates — each day appearing standalone, yet intrinsically interlinked.
從 「水土不服 vol.2」，因應展場空間調性而開啟了磁磚計畫。磁磚是常見的建材，也是陶瓷的一種工業運用。原料土粉以模具壓縮成磁磚胚體，經過烘乾、施釉及高溫燒製後成為磁磚，和一般的製陶過程相似。強迫症的我自然著迷於工業製品的標準和完美，無法接受手桿陶板在乾燥過程中難以避免的變形，我聯繫了磁磚工廠，希望能向他們購買未施釉磁磚，再自行施釉。經過未施釉磁磚和白磁磚的噴釉測試後，發現直接施釉在白磁磚上的完成度高上許多。
我不禁思考我們如何衡量陶瓷藝術的價值？ 需全程手工，透過陶藝家親手製成才有價值嗎？ 部分製程由機器代勞，再由陶藝家接手完成的作品還是陶藝家自己的作品嗎？同時，我也在想生而為人，我與機器製作的產品有什麼不同？常見的磁磚通常是固定圖形的不斷重複和排列，機器善於標準化的複製，而人的價值就彰顯在各種突發的奇想與岔出的思路而衍伸的各種變化和可能吧。該如何捕捉這樣瞬息萬變的想法呢？ 噴釉造成的漸層效果和彩釉堆疊形成的色彩變化，突然想多噴幾層、手拿噴槍的角度歪斜了幾公分等都被細膩紀錄在一方磁磚上，頗能捕捉創作當下不斷流動的靈感、思緒、徬徨和猶豫。
別於一般小尺寸的彩色磁磚，較大尺幅的磁磚更能展現色彩的漸層變化，讓我聯想到一天之中某個時刻的天空雲彩或心境感受。也像是一張張的日曆，綿延的日子被日期切成一格一格，看似獨立的每一天，實則不可分割的連在一起。
Installation view, Soil Space, Tainan, Taiwan, 2023. Photos by Charlie Huang