The little pleasures are always the best ones. Running your hand over a smooth stone or metal surface, seeing a lid sit perfectly flush with the lip of a pot, these seemingly simple manifestations of perfection, of symmetry, are what help us make sense of the confusion that is life.
Such is the premise of "Aura", a new exhibition of tabletop objects -- cups, vases, bowls and kettles -- designed by renowned Chinese architect, designer and artist Chi Wing Lo.
Showing at the Serindia Gallery since Jan 18, the exhibition features over 100 everyday items made of natural materials like Chinese ink stone, silver and wood. The pieces are designed in a simple, functional, yet graceful way, mostly comprised of squares and circles, that emanate their own atmosphere of calm and fulfilment.
Life speaks to Chi about his latest exhibition, and the philosophies that imbue every iota of his work.
What you are trying to convey with this exhibition?
I call this exhibition 'Aura', which refers to the ambience, the atmosphere, the sort of intangible things that make a room feel complete. These objects, because of their materiality, they are so particular in shape and form, that you need the right background to support it, like how you need silence in order to be able to hear music. So here I've kind of made sure to utilise a certain emptiness between the exhibits to bring the items together. They exist because of the space around them, which is what I wanted to express in this collection.
The title -- Aura -- is meant to convey the opulence that comes from the absence of material objects. It is meant to say that matter does not have life until it has a dialogue with other things, until it exists in something. So that's one of the fundamental concepts behind this exhibition.
Each exhibit is displayed almost as if they are 2D paintings, with a bare frame surrounding each exhibit. Is there a reason for this?
Chi Wing Lo.
The way I present these pieces, you'll notice that they're like framed paintings, though of course they're three-dimensional. They're not just art pieces. When you put them together, you can appreciate the composition, the dialogue between the pieces, the way the dimensions relate to each other. And when each piece is taken out separately, you'll notice the items are actually common tools you keep around the house. Despite their outward looks, all my items are teapots, forks, knives, trays, writing instruments, etc. They are presented in such a way that there is their own world in each of them. The stillness, the quietude, the sort of way they form a conversation with each other.
There is certainly an artistic dimension to your pieces, which seems at odds with their functional purpose. Are you trying to say something with this juxtaposition?
In today's world, design and art seems to be a disagreement. You can't ask someone to sit on a sculpture and say it's a chair. But I want to bring them closer. The pieces shown in my exhibition are very much functional objects. But the way they are made and designed speaks of something that is no longer doable, though we can do it again thanks to technology. It's usefulness belongs to our time, not something that is only true in the past. Now we can use these objects and materials in our daily lives. So it's important to bring technology and materials back to our time, so they become valid, become more than mere decorative objects but actually useful objects. That's what's important.
But yet, because of the way each piece is designed and articulated, it sort of elevates each piece beyond their mere functions and turns them into a piece of art. Some of the silver-work is no longer done in the traditional way. Without modern technology, you would never be able to achieve this quality of work in silver. The same goes for the ink stones, which can never be formed into shapes like this without both technology and hand work. I think that's a very important message. Not just in terms of design, but also in order to approach a certain aesthetic sense of artistic expression. So my hope is that this exhibition will be able to bring art and design closer together.
There is a very pleasing quality to the way your pieces function, like how all the lids on your pots sit completely flush when placed over the pot.
It is very much my way of working. The world as we understand it isn't perfect, and we accept that. And in that context, how do you do something to create a counterbalance? In a world of disorder, you need to create order to appreciate what it is. My pieces are like little symbols of order in a chaotic world.
What is the difference between art and design?
Design work demands more things than just presentation. Design has to be functional, you have to be able to use it. Art is more about philosophy and aesthetics. That makes it perhaps more difficult, as there are no boundaries, only those you set for yourself. My hope is that this exhibition will help us understand these two disciplines, and how they cross each other in a context like this. The way I present them like a still photo, but each piece is actually separate and functional by itself.
What kind of message or emotion do you hope to leave with people after they've seen your work?
I always say that design is, in a way, a method of expressing love, like a musician does through their music. The way you take care of the objects around you is symbolic of the way you take care of your life. It's that love of things around you that builds that optimism in the world, it's not something you can casually create. It has to be very deliberate. It's a projection of love and hope, in this case. I'd like to think that all my works are like that. They're not just objects, they embody an attitude; how to respect wood or metal, and how they come together. Understand that, and you can create objects that will last thousands of years.
"Aura" is on view at Serindia Gallery, Charoen Krung 36, until Feb 28.
