by Brianne Siu
FORGOTTEN
2018
Death may be natural to talk about to some, and still taboo to others. After my first time experiencing a formal Chinese funeral in Hong Kong and visiting the tombstones of my late relatives, the concept of death in relation to ceramics has made its imprint on me. Experiencing the offering gesture of pouring wine on the tombstones and the cautious and formal nature of participating in funerals is where I draw the inspiration from. What makes death taboo? How can I connect these ideas of death and the afterlife to be physically experienced? Especially at an age where I am able to understand these ideas of death more clearly than my younger self, perhaps these recent experiences are my motivation to develop these ideas, and be able to comfortably process these ideas surrounding death.
From this experience to a material aspect, I immediately felt the urge to throw multiples of a simple traditional form of a tea cup, slightly larger than one that is used for the offering. I wanted the feel of abundance, “the more the better,” since in my experience it seems to be a popular aspect in Chinese culture. (For example, for burning paper money, the more you burn, the better.) I wanted these cups to visually be similar, but upon closer inspection, there would be slight differences and individual qualities of each vessel from the nature of throwing on the wheel.
Although my ideas of these project are ever changing, someone reminded me of the ancient story of the “Goddess of Forgetfulness,” or better known as “Meng-po,” in Chinese mythology. It is a story basically surrounding what happens to souls after death. The soul in the afterlife eventually meets Meng-po, and she gives a drink to the soul which immediately results in forgetting everything from their past life. After this, the soul would then be reincarnated to the next life. This ancient story that many believe or have heard of sparks my interest in the experience of forgetting, and the idea of physically understanding such a thing where we are alive and perhaps attempting to forget a memory.
Aside from the ancient story, I connected this story with the concept of living funerals as well. According to an article on “The Star,” living funerals are growing in popularity, “not because it is a trend, but rather a shift in how people view the funeral experience.” (Lauren Pelley). Because of this recent change in perspectives, my work engages the audience connecting the ideas surrounding living funerals and the ancient myth of where one physically experiences an event that is meant to be happened after death.
The concept of forgetting and washing away is where I arrived at the conclusion of the glazing aspect of my cups. The path every human being eventually arrives to, is death. The visually “full looking” dispersed cups to the running/washing away of the cobalt glaze, eventually leading to the same pathway of an area of seemingly white or “clear” cups to then be served white wine from are integral to the experience of my work. The unintentional “holes” that are seen and the pooling of the glaze at the bottom of some vessels further accentuates the residue of the white wine as well as referencing the clay bowls for funerary aspects in Mimbres burial practices. This practice is where a single hole is made at the bottom of the bowl as a way of “killing” the piece “as a way to have released the bowl’s spirit, and some subsequently, that of the deceased” (William P. Palmer III Collection).
The individual qualities each thrown vessel adds to the ideas of the different souls arriving at the same path which I have created. This open path leading to one area created by the scattering of the different cups mimics the cautious and formal behaviour of the funeral I experienced. The performative and engaging aspect of my work is meant to be cathartic, as a way of releasing a memory or memories, like the visual holes in some of the cups to forget the memory and to allow the viewer to release themselves of the memory. Similar to the ancient story of Meng-po, after a drink, the memory is to be forgotten, hence the blank cups you are being served, and you move on. The themes surrounding death and to physically experience something meant to be happened after death are ideas I aim for the viewer, and myself to keep in mind, as death and the changing perspectives of living funerals are becoming more relevant in our modern-day society.
Death may be natural to talk about to some, and still taboo to others. After my first time experiencing a formal Chinese funeral in Hong Kong and visiting the tombstones of my late relatives, the concept of death in relation to ceramics has made its imprint on me. Experiencing the offering gesture of pouring wine on the tombstones and the cautious and formal nature of participating in funerals is where I draw the inspiration from. What makes death taboo? How can I connect these ideas of death and the afterlife to be physically experienced? Especially at an age where I am able to understand these ideas of death more clearly than my younger self, perhaps these recent experiences are my motivation to develop these ideas, and be able to comfortably process these ideas surrounding death.
From this experience to a material aspect, I immediately felt the urge to throw multiples of a simple traditional form of a tea cup, slightly larger than one that is used for the offering. I wanted the feel of abundance, “the more the better,” since in my experience it seems to be a popular aspect in Chinese culture. (For example, for burning paper money, the more you burn, the better.) I wanted these cups to visually be similar, but upon closer inspection, there would be slight differences and individual qualities of each vessel from the nature of throwing on the wheel.
Although my ideas of these project are ever changing, someone reminded me of the ancient story of the “Goddess of Forgetfulness,” or better known as “Meng-po,” in Chinese mythology. It is a story basically surrounding what happens to souls after death. The soul in the afterlife eventually meets Meng-po, and she gives a drink to the soul which immediately results in forgetting everything from their past life. After this, the soul would then be reincarnated to the next life. This ancient story that many believe or have heard of sparks my interest in the experience of forgetting, and the idea of physically understanding such a thing where we are alive and perhaps attempting to forget a memory.
Aside from the ancient story, I connected this story with the concept of living funerals as well. According to an article on “The Star,” living funerals are growing in popularity, “not because it is a trend, but rather a shift in how people view the funeral experience.” (Lauren Pelley). Because of this recent change in perspectives, my work engages the audience connecting the ideas surrounding living funerals and the ancient myth of where one physically experiences an event that is meant to be happened after death.
The concept of forgetting and washing away is where I arrived at the conclusion of the glazing aspect of my cups. The path every human being eventually arrives to, is death. The visually “full looking” dispersed cups to the running/washing away of the cobalt glaze, eventually leading to the same pathway of an area of seemingly white or “clear” cups to then be served white wine from are integral to the experience of my work. The unintentional “holes” that are seen and the pooling of the glaze at the bottom of some vessels further accentuates the residue of the white wine as well as referencing the clay bowls for funerary aspects in Mimbres burial practices. This practice is where a single hole is made at the bottom of the bowl as a way of “killing” the piece “as a way to have released the bowl’s spirit, and some subsequently, that of the deceased” (William P. Palmer III Collection).
The individual qualities each thrown vessel adds to the ideas of the different souls arriving at the same path which I have created. This open path leading to one area created by the scattering of the different cups mimics the cautious and formal behaviour of the funeral I experienced. The performative and engaging aspect of my work is meant to be cathartic, as a way of releasing a memory or memories, like the visual holes in some of the cups to forget the memory and to allow the viewer to release themselves of the memory. Similar to the ancient story of Meng-po, after a drink, the memory is to be forgotten, hence the blank cups you are being served, and you move on. The themes surrounding death and to physically experience something meant to be happened after death are ideas I aim for the viewer, and myself to keep in mind, as death and the changing perspectives of living funerals are becoming more relevant in our modern-day society.
Works Cited
“Burials.” Burials: Mimbres, William P. Palmer III Collection, library.umaine.edu/hudson/palmer/Mimbres/burials.asp.
“MENG-PO - the Chinese Goddess of Reincarnation (Chinese Mythology).” Godchecker - Your Guide to the Gods, 3 May 2013, www.godchecker.com/pantheon/chinese-mythology.php?deity=MENG-PO.
Pelley, Lauren. “Living Funerals Offer Way to Say Goodbye - before Someone's Gone.” Thestar.com, 19 Mar. 2016, www.thestar.com/life/2016/03/19/living-funerals-offer-way-to-say-goodbye-before-someones-gone.html.