Mapping the Multiverse: An Exhibition of Eleven Chinese Ceramic Artists at 2024 NCECA

策展人（curator ）

策展人寄语

    多元宇宙是一个理论概念，涵盖了所有假设的宇宙，形成了一切的集体存在——这个类比在全球陶瓷领域找到了共鸣。这个展览，名为《多元宇宙的绘图》，汇集了十一位中国陶艺家，他们试图重新定义跨文化陶艺。通过发起一场重构自己叙事的对话，展览将熟悉的形式转化为陌生的，确定的映射转化为未确定的，为当代陶瓷领域带来新的视角。

    作为在中国出生和长大后在美国学习和工作的女性、母亲、策展人、艺术家、研究员、艺术教师和作者，我通过追溯过去和寻找在不同时刻中不断演变的位置的镜头来感知这个世界。沉浸在不同的文化、历史、语言和假设中，我发现自己面临的问题比答案还多。同样，这次展览中的每位参展艺术家都面临着类似的问题。我们的作品是我们跨文化经历的反映，同时在不同国家居住和旅行时，我们对各自文化传统的解读也在不断转变。因此，《多元宇宙的绘图》汇集了十一位艺术家展示我们自己的叙事和观点，这将形成一个独特的地图，契合会议主题——融合。

    在我们的艺术作品中，我们深入探讨自然、身份、归属感和文化错位的探索。这些作品涵盖了各种概念上的对立：新与旧、技术与传统、交流与语言、美学与文化身份、经济与权力、过去与现在、符号与语言、绘画与数字传输、容器与雕塑。这些元素交叉、碰撞，并在通过“绘图多元宇宙”的行为中演变成一个独特的时刻、空间和叙事。这种现代和传统思想的融合促使人们思考身份和记忆的问题，向全球化世界中的陶瓷传统致敬。每件艺术品都可以被比喻为一张地图，吸收和演变，反映我们自己的人生道路，抽象出生活本身和我们个体根源的复杂和错综复杂性。

    在Covid-19大流行病带来的前所未有的挑战之后，显而易见的是，我们不再居住于一个单一的社会或国家。我们的生活相互连接，超越国界，无论在全球范围还是在微观层面。随着世界向着更高层次的全球化发展，各种国籍和文化融合并演变成一个未知的全球文化。我们的跨文化经历与这一普遍现象共鸣，并成为我们展览《多元宇宙的绘图》的核心主题。我们的艺术作品邀请观众思考他们自己的观点，同时我们提出引人深思的问题。通过陶土，我们重新上下文地描绘了21世纪融合中东西文化的交汇点。

The Multiverse is a theoretical concept that encompasses all hypothetical universes, forming the collective existence of everything—an analogy that finds resonance within the global ceramic field. This exhibition, "Mapping the Multiverse," brings together eleven Chinese ceramic artists who seek to redefine cross-cultural ceramic arts. By initiating a dialogue that reconstructs our own narratives, the exhibition transforms familiar forms into the unfamiliar, identified mappings into the unidentified, to bring a new perspective in the contemporary ceramics field.

Having been born and raised in China before studying and working in the United States, I, as a woman, mother, curator, artist, researcher, art teacher, and author perceive the world through the lens of tracing the past and searching for my evolving position within different moments. Immersed in diverse cultures, histories, languages, and assumptions, I find myself confronted with more questions than answers. Likewise, each participating artist in this exhibition faces similar inquiries. Our works serve as reflections of our cross-cultural experiences while residing and traveling in different countries, while our interpretations of tradition in our respective cultures simultaneously undergo continuous transformations. Thus, "Mapping the Multiverse" brings together eleven artists to show our own narratives and perspectives, which would form a unique map to fit into the conference theme, Coalescence.

Within our artworks, we delve into the exploration of nature, identity, sense of place, and cultural displacement. These works encompass various conceptual dichotomies: new versus old, technology versus tradition, communication versus language, aesthetics versus cultural identity, economy versus power, past versus present, symbol versus language, painting versus digital transfers, and vessels versus sculptures. These elements intersect, collide, and evolve into a singular moment, space, and narrative within a piece through the act of Mapping the Multiverse. This amalgamation of modern and traditional ideas prompts contemplation on matters of identity and memory, paying homage to one of the ceramic traditions in a globalized world. Each artwork can be likened to a map, absorbing and evolving, reflecting our own life paths, abstracting the complexities and intricacies of life itself and our individual roots.

Following the unprecedented challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic, it is evident that we no longer inhabit a singular society or country. Our lives are interconnected, transcending borders, both on a global scale and at a microscopic level. As the world progresses towards heightened globalization, diverse nationalities and cultures merge and evolve into an unknown global culture. Our cross-cultural experiences resonate with this universal phenomenon and serve as the central theme of our exhibition, "Mapping the Multiverse." Our artworks invite viewers to contemplate their own perspectives as we raise thought-provoking questions. Through clay, we re-contextualize the intersection of Eastern and Western cultures in the 21st century Coalescence.

参展艺术家/ARTIST：

黄婧

学历：阿尔弗雷德大学纽约州立陶瓷学院 / 硕士

谢尔丹学院 / 荣誉文凭

景德镇陶瓷大学 / 学士

现职：艺术家

Jing Huang

Education: New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University / MFA

Sheridan College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning / High Honor Diploma

Jingdezhen Ceramic University / BFA

Current: Artist