Issues: Population (detail), 2019, ceramics, 49 × 32 × 32 cm
Issues is the third solo exhibition by James Seet, one of Malaysia’s most accomplished ceramic artists. The exhibition features nine ceramic sculptures, each of which represents a contemporary social issue, namely: plastic pollution, shark finning, overpopulation, deforestation, nuclear weapons, marijuana legalisation, abortion, homophobia, and global warming.
The exhibition is not the first by James to highlight social issues. As an artist, he is sensitive towards injustices and his works reflect his belief of using art as a medium to effect change in the world. The ceramic sculptures resemble geodes, with a thick outer shell that encloses a dense interior containing miniature representations of the issue: the geode’s crystals. The surface appearance of each of them are customised to reflect the issue they contain: for example, Issues: Trees is shaped like a log and glazed in such a way as to have a wood-like texture. Unlike a geode, which is normally displayed facing up so that you may admire the glittering crystals within, these sculptures are displayed downwards, facing mirrors placed beneath them. The display and experience of the works simulates the nature of taboo, or activism, in that one must be willing to crouch down and get close to the ground in order to see the dimensions of a problem clearly. Only by lowering themselves are viewers able to see the hidden Issues. James found inspiration for the form of the Issues from the Malay proverb, ada udang di sebalik batu (translation: under every rock is a shrimp, a proverb meant to convey that every action has its hidden intention).
The exhibition offers a unique experience for pondering the big, capital-I Issues of the world through artistic intervention. These ceramics have been cast and hardened, but the future is not yet set in stone. The exhibition invites us, as members of society, to consider our own role in shaping the world — just as the artist shapes his worlds through clay.
INSTALLATION SHOTS
