Why these ephemeral clay artworks by ceramicist Ruth Ju-shih Li will crumble in front of your eyes
- Taiwanese-Australian ceramicist Ruth Li makes intricate works from raw clay that sometimes even begin to disintegrate while she is still building them
- She has run ceramics classes around Asia and in February will lead workshops at The Living Light Art Studio in Hong Kong
In 2023, Taiwanese-Australian ceramicist Ruth Ju-shih Li unveiled her largest work yet: a ceramic sculpture of blooms of flowers 15 metres (49 feet) long and 3 metres wide. The work was the latest iteration of Still Life from a Distant Memory: a Winter Study Before Dawn, a piece she debuted three years earlier.
Intricate flower arrangements were balanced on a series of platforms, some of which were connected by tendrils of clay that stretched like vines across the room in a gallery in Canberra, Australia.
Soon after Li’s exhibition opened, the work began to collapse. Tendrils snapped. Leaves disintegrated. Flowers fell to the ground. For the remainder of the show, visitors walked through the ruins of Li’s installation, sometimes watching it crumble in front of their eyes.
This was exactly what Li hoped would happen.
Like much of Li’s art, the installation was an ephemeral work made from unfired clay.
