Sensualitea & Empatea

Sensualitea



Teaism is a cult founded on the adoration of the beautiful among the sordid, facts of everyday existence. It inculcates purity and harmony, the mystery of mutual charity, the romanticism of the social order. It is essentially a worship of the Imperfect, as it is a tender attempt to accomplish something possible in this impossible thing we know as life.

Kakuzo Okakura

To extract the teapot out of the philosophy of tea is a compelling organic metaphor, isolating the sensual in humanity. Here, I am exploring function not as purpose, but as subject. Although bearing the features of a conventional teapot, this implication questions the practical aspects of its actual function for the sake of more concentrated contemplation on its visual conundrum.

The bellied vessel, along with its handle shaft, is thrown in one piece, indented at the base of the shaft and then joined at the spout. This is difficult to achieve, as the indentation is the weakest point of the piece, balancing the tall shaft in its upright position throughout the entire throwing process.

If you free your mind and look into the sculptural aesthetic, you will see that it signifies the sensibility of a transmuted interaction between the clay and the hands of the sculptor. With the help of a little imagination, you will begin to feel its sensuality.

Written by Sean Lacey


Empatea



The Teapot Song:
I'm a little tea pot,
Short and stout
Here is my handle
Here is my spout
When I get all steamed up,
Hear me shout
Just tip me over and pour me out!

Remember when you learned this childhood rhyme? You not only learned the words, but also pretended that you were a teapot, making gestures and having fun with your imagination. It was, in a sense, putting yourself in another’s shoes, allowing you to share consciousness with a personified being, embracing its figurative form and emotions.

Reading about a feeling or intellectually knowing about one is very different from actually experiencing it yourself. How connected a person is to another, relies very much on the degree to which one is able to feel through the many experiences of life. Empathy begins with living an experience through another person, from their point of view, or in some sense, either figurative or literal, having experienced it oneself.

Based upon the concept of empathy, I hope to extract this intangible element from the human experience. Where as children we took on the form of a teapot, now we lend human experience back to the teapot.

Written by Sean Lacey

Tiger teapots

New works

http://www.asianart.com/exhibitions/ringoffire/index.html.
to view more photos, look under the exhibition section.

Seeing infinity inspires a finite world

End of July 2008 I submitted this piece of work for a local sculpture competition in the Penang Island. Made out of cardboard and pvc pipes. It was great fun. The sculpture is about creating a symbol to represent Penang in a tomorrow's perspective. And it is also about spearheading a nation into a cyber mentality.
Here is a brief synopsis of my work:
A world of inspiration is a world aspired and motivated to simply better our lives. It is one of the most important ingredients to shape a better future. In the past we have seen its power manifested in creating the 7 wonders of the world, the masterpiece in music and art to the journey into space. This inspiration continues the legacy to the next generation of inspired people. These are the people to see and experience the fruition of inspired thoughts. We know the past and we see the infinite future ahead of us and we inspire as a nation: Penang - Malaysia - The World, and we can cyber the world into an infinite horizon.
The cube symbolizes the four corners of the world. The negative space within the cube forms an eye. The cylinder in the centre representing the pupil has two mirrors at two ends. There is a peephole from the center and bottom of the cylinder that allows people to see in. There are rings of holes along the cylinder to allow the natural light to penetrate through to illuminate the interior. With the mirrors at both ends, you will see a reflection of "infinity". Because this sculpture is about inspiring the people, thus interaction with the public is crucial to get the idea across. Fully metal chrome preferred to give a high-tech-look and strength to withstand the elements.

Quixotica

The Quixotic Experience
A Chinese born out of China, traveled to a western world embracing a tradition of ‘wabi’ belonging to the Japanese culture; once again, the marvel of globalization, the modern world without borders. But the essence is still an age old one, finding the soul and breathing life into the beauty of the modest and humble. Finding an aesthetic where reason is motivated by perception and yet surrendering it all to the hands of flame within an Ogama kiln.
It was a magical experience from the first moment of igniting her and watching her come alive. Awakening the dragon from her silent sleep. For three whole days continually, these pots stood in her bosom, nourished and coloured. Imprinting the expression of flames on the pots.
My first artist-in-residency and Quixotica was the muse. I could hear my thoughts with clarity and it flowed through my hands onto the clay. Truly inspirational!