The Universe in a Vase
Transcrição
The Universe in a Vase
EXhibition The Universe in a Vase photos - Franziska Hasse Maiko Hahn O " God, I could be bounded in a nutshell and count myself a king of infinite space...". These are the words full of disquiet from Shakespeare's Hamlet. A similar yet contrary sentiment is expressed in a Chinese tale from the late Han period, which tells of an old man who possesses the universe in a vase. Hú-zhong-tian, or in Japanse kochuten – this corresponds to heaven or paradise, or the universe in a vase. This is what the vases of Kohei Hahn remind us of with their sweeping forms. The narrow foot of the vases seems to stand for the beginning of all things, the body of the vase for its unfolding. In the foot, space begins to expand like in the Big Bang. This acceleration and expansion is once again forcefully drawn together towards the opening. So if you run your hand over the contours in a single gesture, it is possible to capture space in its entirety, in its expansion and contraction. The sculptures, which are assembled 44 from found objects and ceramics, also endeavour to form a unity. The individual fragments, which Kohei Hahn describes as "flotsam and jetsam", have already lost their original forms. They present us wth a puzzle as to what is missing, what has passed, about lost time. The sculptures join these fragments to form something new, at the same time making us painfully aware of the inaccessibility of a holistic harmony and the inadequacy of human existence. But the process of joining and patching is not only expressive of melancholy for what is lost, but also of "bricolage", as LéviStrauss termed it, a form of the creative process unique to humans. Innovations are not freely invented, but art is seen as taking up what is there and transforming it. It is especially the ceramic figures that can be seen as a link to and a transformation of what has been handed down to us. In a way, they are reminiscent of dogu, Japanese terracotta statues from the neo- lithic period. Dogu are one of the oldest forms of dolls in human form. As only relatively few undamaged statuettes have been found – arms or legs are often missing – it has been assumed that they served as cultic objects. They were probably sacrificial figures that were intentionally mutilated as a part of a fertility rite in order to guarantee the renewal of life in this way. Pain was inflicted on the dogu as substitutes for humans. Koehi Hahn's figures are also lacking arms and legs, and their bodies are covered with scratches. They are a mirror of human suffering, but at the same time they embody hope of its alleviation. Like the collaged, sculptures, the ceramic figures are thus also concerned with the theme of vulnerability and transitoriness of human existence. The playfulness of her work, however, is an expression of a great love of and curiosity for its inexhaustible variety. The directness of the making, making with her own hand is also an important NEW CERAMICS March / April 2011 DArmstadt EXhibition ILLUSTRATIONS opposite page - "3 Vases" - h c. 22 - 28 cm d c. 40 - 43 cm top - "Der Mensch" - h 44,5 cm "Asterion" - h 52,5 cm bottom - "group of sculptures" h 18,0 - 45,5 cm obvious contrast to the stoneware vases, which are given a transparent glaze on the inside, the figures are only fired to 1150°C, thus appearing softer and more porous. However, they were built on the same principle with clay coils. The figures are therefore hollow. They resemble seashells, empty molluscs from the depths of the ocean, covered with enigmatic patterns, leaving behind a vague memory. Kohei Hahn chooses ancient patterns, applied steadily by hand to the vases. The structures are repetitive and uniform, but not quite, they are only almost perfect. The desire for holistic harmony meets the fascination with pulsating life and its richness of detail. Thus, with the vases, the whole and the detail, just like the exterior and the interior, enclosing and reopening are in an ongoing dialogue. Ultimately it is the mouth of the vase that links the opposites of outside and inside. It allows us to take a glimpse of the depths, into a void that leaves the question of the whole open. And from the empty eyes of the ceramic figures comes the same question. Their eyes are also small openings, they draw us down into the depths, searching for an answer. Possibly the universe is not only concealed in a vase, but it is also behind the dark eye sockets – in us human beings. Maiko Hahn is architect and lives in Munich. theme in Kohei Hahn's work. Not just in shaping the ceramics, but especially in their surface treatment too, techniques are specifically chosen that occupy the borderline area between conscious and unconscious action. Kohei Hahn does not use brushes or stains on the surfaces. Instead, delicate textures, dots and lines are scratched into a March / April 2011 NEW CERAMICS layer of white slip, revealing the dark grey clay body beneath. The scratches and punctures that cover these ceramic figures correspond to the dots and lines that decorate the vases. This pattern is not intended to add anything new to the object. Stoically and meditatively, as if it were being tattooed, the surface of the object itself is manipulated. In Vessels and Sculptures Kohei Hahn, Christel Möhring Gloria Hasse Galerie KERAMIKUM Untere Mühlstrasse 26 D-64291 Darmstadt, Germany Opens on Sun., 20 March at 11.30 a.m. – 5 p.m. Until Sat. 9 April 2011 Opening hours: Thur. – Sun., 3–6 p.m. Kohei Hahn Atelier Potsch/Biek/Hahn Pariserstr. 25, RGB D-81667 München [email protected] www.koheihahn.com 45