Xu xiaoan is a senior craftsman and artist. She is also an overseas director of KCI Core Magazine of Korea Basic Modeling Association.

Love in the Yaoshan Mountain Xu Xiaoan

With the half-male and half-female pattern, Love in the Yaoshan Mountain shows the dual connotations of interdependence and independence. The work adopts clay carving and underglaze blue decoration. It not only presents visual layers, but also highlights the subtle and tense interactions of love through the careful carving of the characters' facial and hair details as well as the independence and complementarity of the inlay structure. In terms of subject, the simple lines of the male and the soft forms of the female form a “juxtaposition of yin and yang” in a staring posture together with the flowing cloud and grass motifs, which symbolizes the desire to transcend the mundane life without losing the true nature of the emotions.

Examined from the perspective of “dependent origination and the emptiness of nature”, the mutual dependence of male and female cannot be separated from the convergence of multiple origination. The techniques of clay, carving and underglaze blue decoration complement the regional cultures, reflecting the concept of “everything is based on the mind and things happen depending on causes and conditions”. The structure of the work, which can be divided or merged, is a metaphor for the impermanence of “all conditioned dharmas are like a dream, an illusion, a bubble and a shadow”.When the two pieces are independent, they are separate from each other and maintain their own qualities.When they are merged together, they can be integrated into a whole that can nourish each other. This form of “cherishing the present and treating others well” reflects the desire to transcend constraints and pursue inner freedom.

At the same time, the concept of “loving each other and being each other”in this work echoes the concept in Shu Ting’s poem To the Oak Tree. In this poem, Shu Ting emphasizes that love should stand side by side and can be mutually fulfilling rather than being overly attached or dependent. Men and women, as the subjects of “love”, should insist on their own independence and achieve a higher level of intimacy and understanding by not entangling with each other. The two people in Love in the Yaoshan Mountain are not obsessively entangled with each other but rather demonstrate reciprocity and balance in their juxtaposition. The structure of “yin and yang” and “division and merging” symbolizes the balance. The two pieces can not only be “mountains” on their own but can also be clasped together to form a complete work of art.

From the intersection of philosophy and modern poetry, Love in the Yaoshan Mountain is not only a presentation of ceramic technology but also a multi-level reflection on love relationships, the impermanence of life and individual existence. With the flow of clouds and the change of inlays, the work implies the flow of emotions and life situations as well as suggests that one should maintain the inner consciousness and keep a cherishing heart between encounter and departure. It is this fusion of separation and integration that gives the work a deeper revelation in form and concept. The work not only extends the contemporary artistic expression of national culture but also provides the viewer with the opportunity to think beyond geography, space and time.