Porcelain Polo by Li Xiaofeng // Happening // Added 2010/07/07 at 12:33
LACOSTE challenged Chinese artist Li Xiaofeng to create two different polos for the 2010 Holiday Collector’s Series. For both, he had to adapt his work methods slightly. For the limited edition printedpolo, he chose blue and white shards with lotus and children designs from the Kangxi Period (1662 - 1772 AD) of the Qing Dynasty (1644 - 1911 AD).). The lotus grows from mud underwater to emerge as a flower, symbolising purity and rebirth. Images of babies represent fertility, as during that period the high infant mortality rate meant that people decorated ceramics with babies hoping they would be blessed with children.
Source : yatzer.com
interview provided by LACOSTE press office
How did you become involved with LACOSTE for this project?
John Storey first saw my works at the The Opposite House, Beijing, which he liked very much. He found out from an editor friend there that I am represented by Red Gate Gallery and got an introduction to the gallery where we met. John introduced the project concept to me, which I liked very much and agreed to it.
What was your impression of LACOSTE before you started working on this project?
In about 2004, my classmate Li Kuan gave me an old LACOSTE shirt. It was very comfortable to wear, and I have kept it until today.
You trained as a muralist, so why did you decide to move to sculpture?
It is not possible for an artist to control the direction of his or her carrier entirely. It is a tree which undergoes a process of maturity. While I was studying to become a muralist, our classes were very interesting and we learnt many things. We knew that there are many different types of muralist expression techniques. At the time, there was a ceramics class, the supervisor emphasised a lot on transmission of culture and innovation. After graduating, my artistic exploration has always been linked somehow to traditional culture. The artwork I created for my graduation was a combination of an installation and an oil painting relating to the human body.
How did you get the idea to use porcelain shards as a material? Where do you find them?
After graduation in 2003, I used a composition of materials to paint a series of Chinese water colour landscape paintings. To better experience the feeling of painting of ancient painters, I started to have contact with ancient Chinaware on paintings. These are totally different to the painting styles of ancient literati paintings. They are simple and sincere, which is identical to my nature. Gradually as I accumulated many shard pieces, the idea sprouted for me to create an artwork. After I created my first Mao jacket piece, I realised I had entered a totally different area than I was previously in. It was very different to the education I had received in my college, however there was also a more essential connection. Here there are many things which are worth me exploring.
My first idea for the work was that it should be able to be worn for performance art. From 2004 to 2005, I have done performance art several times. This performance art pieces are related to the human body and its ideal. My first piece using ceramic shards was a Mao jacket. The name of the piece was “Beijing Memories”. My idea was to distill this era to a new level through art.
As to how I found these shards, everybody knows that Beijing is a big city. Beijing today is a big construction site. Property developers have turned Beijing upside down. Ancient cultural relics from the Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties have been pushed up from below the surface through this process.
Describe the steps to make your porcelain clothing sculptures.
Firstly, composing the piece is a process. I must reflect a lot about it. I must make a rough sketch, compose, reject it and start again. Sometimes, I straightaway use Plasticene or wire to create a model. After this, after confirming the period of the shards, I classify the colour of the patterns, then put together a rough arrangement of the shards, cut and polish each piece. This is a very repetitive process. I must pay close attention to the modelling as well as the original pattern colour of the shards. I then must weld the pieces and make the final adjustments.
How long did it take you to create the LACOSTE Porcelain Polo sculpture? How many shards did you use ?
It took me over three months to create the piece for LACOSTE. I used over three hundred shard pieces! I was trained as an oil painter. When an artist finishes a painting, no one ever calculates how many brush strokes or how much paint was used. As long as you reach the ideal effect, it’s fine. This has become one of my habits.
Describe the steps to make your porcelain clothing sculptures.
Firstly, composing the piece is a process. I must reflect a lot about it. I must make a rough sketch, compose, reject it and start again. Sometimes, I straightaway use Plasticene or wire to create a model. After this, after confirming the period of the shards, I classify the colour of the patterns, then put together a rough arrangement of the shards, cut and polish each piece. This is a very repetitive process. I must pay close attention to the modelling as well as the original pattern colour of the shards. I then must weld the pieces and make the final adjustments.
How long did it take you to create the LACOSTE Porcelain Polo sculpture? How many shards did you use ?
It took me over three months to create the piece for LACOSTE. I used over three hundred shard pieces! I was trained as an oil painter. When an artist finishes a painting, no one ever calculates how many brush strokes or how much paint was used. As long as you reach the ideal effect, it’s fine. This has become one of my habits.
Source : yatzer.com
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