BACK GALLERY JIANZHEN WU (SHIRLEY) (SA) - TRANSFERENCE– FROM MEANING TO MATTER
My exhibition explores my conscious and unconscious lived experience through auto-ethnography, phenomenology and materiality. My process of working with material is through focused meditative making, as a sensory transference experience.
Chinese calligraphy is a highly focused practice that requires the person to be mindful of their present. During the process, I become very sensitive to my state of mind and my body sensations, as it easily reflects on my hand to the paper through the brush. I write the first letter that comes to my mind, I contemplate the definition of the letter and how I emotionally connect to them— this is my way to let my thoughts and emotions out.
When my breath and my hands come together into one, the control of my wrists engages my conscious rhythmic inhalation and exhalation which is perfectly reflected in my flameworking practice—a glass making process that requires engagement of mind, breath and hand manipulation. Since it takes much longer time to make one glass stroke in flameworking, it slows down time and draws all my attention into the shapes of the strokes—how does it start and end? Where is the curve? In what angle?
From narrative texts to abstract shapes, the transparent glass strokes are the materialised sensory experience and mind flow.
Transference – From Meaning To Matter, Installation Detail, Image Credit: Steph Fuller
Wu is an emerging artist based in Adelaide who was born and raised in China. Inspired by holistic therapy from her previous training in Hong Kong, she has a strong interest in how the creative process generates healing in mental health through meditative making and sensory experience. Wu’s practice crosses contermporary jewellery and sculptural object making by using glass, silicone, stone, ceramic, metal and other materials, through lampwoking, moulding and casting, metalsmithing and stone caving techniques.
Wu graduated from a Master of Design program (Contemporary Art) University of South Australia (2019). Wu is the recipient of the Canberra Glassworks (ACT) Graduate In Resident 2021. Her graduate works were selected by the Helpmann Graduate exhibition and she was shortlisted in MilanoVetro-35 Glass Prize (2020) in Italy and National Emerging Art glass Prize (2020) in Australia. She has also completed a Jewellery degree in London (2013) and an Aromatherapy Diploma in Hong Kong (2016).