Cinders (MFA Exhibition)
The title of my MFA exhibition, Cinders, serves as a layered metaphor. On one level, it represents the
ceramic pieces in the exhibition, which, like cinders, are substances that have
endured extreme heat, and thereby transformed by it. The title also reflects my
conceptual aim: to draw a parallel between these ceramics and contemporary
subjects. Much like fired clay, we are metaphorical cinders, shaped by the
intense pressures and challenges of contemporary life.
My
metaphorical stance on the word invites a further structural reflection on
"cinder" as a concept—what conditions give rise to its formation, and
what does it truly signify for something to become "cinder"?
Examining
the concept of cinders as a metaphor for the ceramics process – the process of
firing clay in a kiln – reveals its intrinsic connection to
temporality. To be more precise, it reveals a temporal in-between-ness.
Rather than implying a linear progression of "before" and
"after," cinders encapsulate a state of transition—an in-between
phase where the flame still burns, or the substance has not yet been fully
consumed.