#20 Object Talks: Throwing faces with Stonedwares
Pang Yun Jing came to recognise these vessels as physical signposts of her state of mind
Welcome to Objectively #20! Object Talks is a sub-series on conversations with creatives who work with objects—such as makers, collectors, and curators—about their practice.
Can’t quite believe we’re at issue 20! What started as an impulse at a bakery window seat last September has grown into a platform for creatives to share your stories. They always blow my mind and give me much to think about. Thank you to all of you that take time to think about, read, and share these stories!
This interview was actually the first Object Talks I did, so it feels special to share it with you today. Read on for Pang Yun Jing, a multi-faceted creative behind Stonedwares, on why she started to sculpt faces onto ceramics and what she learnt as they stared back at her.
Pang Yun Jing is mainly made up of her curious wandering mind and a pair of itchy hands. A full-time over-thinker and a ceramics student on Saturday afternoons. She finds it strange when she refers to herself as a third person.
Hi Yun Jing, can you tell us more about your ceramic characters?
Hi! Stonedwares, as I jokingly call them, are functional ceramic vessels with a blank unimpressed expression on them. They started out as individual pieces but over time it looks like I’ve birthed an entire family of strange mismatched vessels.
They evoke so much personality and emotion. What led you to this style of ceramics?
When I was practising my hand-building techniques, the built forms always felt like blank canvases to me. I started to create faces on them in an attempt to inject life despite never having done sculpting before. That resulted in these anatomically inaccurate, objectively ugly faces.
I’m glad you find them emotionally evoking because emotions are the main source of inspiration. When I created the very first ceramic character, I hadn’t been in a good mental space for a long time, mainly feeling burnt out by work. It was only in hindsight that I discovered I’ve unconsciously translated that mental state into this blank stare and eye bags so full they sag into cheek-like pouches. It was a manifestation of my fatigued and drained soul.
Recently, I created a piece with a calm and contented expression and only when I saw these two characters side-by-side did I realise how far I’ve journeyed mentally. These pieces become physical signposts of my state of mind at different points in time.
Can you take us through your process of making them?
Ceramics is the one medium where I allow myself free rein to create. There are countless parameters in other aspects of my life when it comes to creative outputs. This is my safe space to explore without limits, without the need to inject meaning into everything.
The process is very much a spur-of-the-moment thing. Sometimes I’m a bit more intentional when I’m inspired by visuals I’ve seen or if I want to explore specific forms. Most times I see where both the clay and my emotions take me. It’s always an adventure.
I understand your father also does ceramics — how does that shape your practice?
I grew up quite literally surrounded by my dad’s ceramic works. He’s an incredible potter and the most relentlessly passionate person I know. Despite growing up with it, ceramics was not something I thought I’d get into. Maybe it was because I wasn’t aware of younger artists working with this medium years ago (ceramics has since seen such a huge boom). Maybe it was me wanting to chart my own creative path away from being associated with my dad’s mastery. Eventually, I recognise the privilege I have of being able to learn from my own dad. I already looked up to him in so many ways, why not add another?
My dad has always modelled patience, both as a parent and as an artist. If you look at his works (google "Pang Swee Tuan” please), you see how much meticulousness goes into the intricacies. From him, I’ve witnessed what decades of effort and dedication bring. Learning a craft isn’t about rushing to produce a result. Ceramics is a slow mindful journey that does not always take you to your destination but that’s okay. I learned to navigate frustrations, practice patience and treasure the process. Results naturally show as you go.
What are your hopes for Stonedwares?
I have been making ceramic pieces because it’s cathartic. For now, I’m having trouble persuading myself to sell these works because they are quite literally tangible bits of myself, vessels of my emotions and mental states. Each piece holds so much sentiment that parting with each is hard. But when parting eventually happens, I hope these bits of mirrored me get scattered around the world held by people who will look into the eyes of these pieces and find parts of themselves staring back — an unspoken connection with others. That’s quite a wonderful thought.
Before you go, who’s an object-creator you look to for inspiration?
I admire Anastassia Zamaraeva, a UK-based ceramic artist. Her works are so quietly compelling, poetic, surreal and hold so much depth. I hope to one day create something with narratives as layered as hers.
Images courtesy of Pang Yun Jing.
Objectively is a weekly series about our objects and the stories they tell. Leading with curiosity, the project views objects as an extension and embodiment of humanity, and hopes that exploring our relationship with them gives us new understandings of ourselves.
#21 next week is a Living with Objects feature with Damar Masato.
Growing up it kind of lost its magic and when it broke we were never really bothered to fix it, but it was always there in the background.
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