MA student wins international attention
MA2 student Mingshu Li wins third prize after attending X Biennal Internacional de Ceràmica del Vendrell in Spain. Next year she is invited back for an exhibition and workshop showing her working methods.
– When I was informed I won third prize, I hardly could believe what I heard, I was so excited! And now my work "Black Form" will be owned by the City of El Vendrell and become part of the Municipal Art Collection.
Mingshu Li, a MFA 2 student from Art and Craft, studying Medium- and Material Based art, working with clay, says her work started with her collecting elements she had never used, seen or eaten before she came to Oslo.
– What interests me the most is those three Norwegian characters Å, Ø and Æ given the elements of the circle, slash, symmetry and antisymmetric form, which is utilized in the work “Black Form”. Meanwhile, I’m learning what Henry Moore said, “…feel shape simply as shape, not as description and reminiscence...”. When I observe a wall or a piece of clothing, I touch it with my eyes, tracking the textures and rhythm, indulging in light and shadow. I believe the shape means not only the clay itself, but also the empty space inside. A hole in itself has as much “shape-meaning” as solid mass; it expands the surface of the sculpture and enhances the spatial perception of a work.
The Ceràmica del Vendrell Biennale was started in 2001 and showcases innovative and high quality ceramics. Next year Mingshu Li has been asked to send six works to participate in a group exhibition with 1st and 2nd price winners.
– The Biennale has also invited me to have a one-day workshop showing my working method. I appreciate KHiO providing me with professional facilities and individual working space which greatly helps me to produce art pieces; I can work with freedom here. What’s more, no matter what kind of personality you have, you can find your own research plan in KHiO — taking part in the LAB and workshops, spending time in the library, getting criticism from teachers and students, exchanging to a different university, or you just immerse into your own world, ignoring everything happening around you…
