The living needs light and the dead needs music, 2019

This project is a series of sculptures that was created using ceramic and jewellery making techniques. The original forms of these objects was inspired by the jewellery pieces from an ancient Vietnamese culture - Dong Son culture (which is also known as the Bronze Age culture) - from 1000BC. The 2 chosen objects were a bronze bracelet which I then turned into ceramic candle cups, and a stone headpin that was later used to create a tambourine-like instrument.

 

The idea for this project was formed around the phrase "The living needs light and the dead needs music". The concept of the phrase is similar to one of the Vietnamese Buddhism practices: when someone passes away, their family will ask a monk to perform a "chant" melody at the funeral - the music. Sometimes there is just the monk chanting, sometimes there will be Vietnamese traditional instruments playing at the background. Such chanting performance was believed to be able to lead the dead person's soul to the realm of the death, avoid that soul to be lost and end up aimlessly wondering around in world of the living. On the other hand, the other family members who are still alive have to put a small altar table in their house, where they display inscents, candles and oil lamps - the light. Those "lights" are believed to help connecting the living family to their dead member (or their ancestors). Every year, during the death ceremonies, these lights (and smoke) from the inscents, candles and oil lamps are also what lead their ancestors home, or some people believe that the foods that are displayed on the altar will be transferred within the light toward them. 

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There are "decorations" on the sculptures that were made with an intention to strengthen such "connection" between the livings and the dead. On the tambourine-like instrument, there are metal pieces that were cut into the shapes of birds on the Dong Son drum, all have a meaning of either "leading" or "time and space". Their materials were also picked to be able to make different tones and sounds - mimicking an actual instrument. Furthermore, the imprinted pattern on the candle cups are the simplified drawings of the lotus flower - a national flower that represents Vietnamese culture and people. Such pattern was created as an attempt to enhance the connection between us - the children of Vietnam - to our ancestors who had existed thousands of years before us.  

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The objects was presented in a flat tray covered by a layer of red velvet fabric, under a bright, white light. The material was chosen not only for its complimentary with the white and silver colours of the sculptures, but also for a sense of ritual that was practiced in the presenting moment.