Lot 114
CHIEN-WEI CHANG (TAIWANESE 1971-)
SURPRISINGLY MATCHED NO.B4 AND SURPRISINGLY MATCHED NO.D5
Auction: MODERN MADE Part II | 01 November 2024 | Lots 80 to 444
Description
each with maker's character stamp, Chinese porcelain snuff bottle, antique silver spoon (Exeter, 1837 and Sheffield 1903), white metal and acrylic gold paint (to the latter)
Dimensions
each 17.7cm long (7in long) (2)
Provenance
Acquired directly from the maker, August 2015;
Property of a Private Aficionado.
Footnote
Following on from the ladles series, created in 2004, in an Eastern functional form, as his debut work on the UK contemporary craft scene, Chang marked his 10 year milestone by choosing two significant objects as part of his new work - an antique English silver spoon, with its hallmark specifying the year and place of production, and a Chinese porcelain snuff bottle, which was produced in the late 19th century and imported from China.
Both are artefacts widely recognised by collectors from both Eastern and Western societies. The idea of combining these two objects together seems preposterous and contrived. But the motivation behind this act is to signify the importance of these two different cultures in his life and to depict his cross-cultural journey in Britain.
In the making process, he played with the two materials like a child, hoping to create something with accidental beauty.