The Finnish Institute in Japan and Shigaraki Ceramic Culture Park have selected Man Yau (b. 1991, Helsinki) to participate in the institute’s and SCCP’s ceramic art residency. Man Yau is a 26-year-old sculptor living and working in Helsinki. Yau has graduated from the Bachelor Degree Programme in Ceramic and Glass Design of Aalto University.
Man Yau. Photo: Emma Sarpaniemi
Yau has exhibited both solo and with other artists in Helsinki and abroad, including Paris and New York. At the moment she is working on an artistic project “Uniikki”, which will be located in Jingdezhen, China. She is also in the process of designing a series of sculptures for department store Stockmann, which will be released during Helsinki Design Week in September.
Yau has described herself as an artist whom working method is sculpting. For Yau, the most relevant aspect of her work is the physical side of sculpting and stretching the essence of the material at hand. In the process everything from the artist`s own experiences to the surrounding reality is incorporated into the work at hand. The imprints of Yau’s work is often plastique and glossy. She wants to highlight the meaning of handicraft and natural materials. At the same time Yau strives to remove every trace that could reveal the process behind the piece.
Man Yau: Planer HER-BB (2017). Galleria Sculptor.
Yau’s initial interest towards the residency program was rooted in the scale and size of works she would be able to produce in Shigaraki. Besides scale, she plans to explore the combination of different materials and use of colors in addition to taking a closer view of Japanese culture. Yayoi Kusama and Taro Izumi have been the inspiration for her through their dedication of describing the local culture and daily life.
“Ultimately, I wish that I will discover something I can’t yet even anticipate or envision, to learn and advance in a new manner, whether through working with a different size, a new working environment or the surrounding culture, or the new inspiring people I will meet during the residency”, she says.
Taking place during fall 2018, the 1,5-month residency is organized for the second time.