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'Ướm' ceramic cup series in collaboration with artist Khoa Phạm
2019 - 2020
In 2019, I and my friend Khoa developed our mutual interest in hand's traces into a series of ceramic cups. We named our collaboration '609' since we are both Cancerians and 609 resembles two friends conversing over a pond of thoughts.
Ướm is a series of ceramic cups. In Vietnamese, “ướm” is an action of when someone tries to fit in/ try to put themselves into something to see if it suits of fits them. More than this original meaning, this word metaphorically portrait the idea of how someone tries to fit themselves into the other shoes, conveys their empathy to a certain subject.
In Vietnamese folk tale of “Saint Gióng”, the ideology of “Ướm” was presented in a very bizzare, yet poetic and mystical way. “Saint Gióng” was conceived by his mother alone just right after she suddenly draws herself into an enormous footprint and fit her feet in it. This mythical gesture poses as a way how god, their spiritual beliefs connects to the mother, create a saint comes to life to help them fight back to the enemy.
Taking a step further, a lot of folk tales over the world shares the same universal way, using fitting as a way to establish the plot like Cinderella and the glass shoes. This interesting approach shows the significant relationship between objects and human, using fitting as a way to connect them and object and therefore, the inspiration of the series.
Each cups features traces of their hands interact with the cup in an unintended way when they enjoy their very personal moment with the cup like reading a book and contemplating while listening or dancing slowly to the music. These moments are so private that it reveals their true self. Those then were carefully captured and carved into the clay, then glazed with different texture in the end of the making process.
When interact with the cups, the audience will “Ướm”- fit their hand into those negative - glossy glazed - surfaces. By doing so, they are invited to grow a personal connection with the object, and creates an intimate dialogue between themselves, the object and the designer.
- Text by Khoa Phạm