Art & The Body: Ah Xian

China China Series
1997-1999
Porcelain body-cast, with hand painted

underglaze and overglaze decoration.

Head 1 (from 'China. China' series) 1997
Porcelain body-cast, with hand painted underglaze blue

and overglaze decoration in yellow, orange and green.

Ah Xian is an Australia based artist who immigrated from China in the 90's. His work mainly consists of porcelain busts which have been live-casted (the subject of the cast is living.) The style, design and quality of the porcelain is traditional to the Ming Dynasty and is still being produced today by skilled artisans. With help from some of these artisans, located in the region of Jingdezhen in China, Ah Xian was able to create these busts and many more like them.

All of the detail is hand painted in traditional styles, by the artist.

The process used picks up on the very fine details of the face and shows the beauty and delicacy of human features and the outside decoration accentuates that beauty. There is a feeling of serenity and calmness in this work, along with an almost morbid feeling. Regardless of how appealing these busts are there is still allusion to death masks and perhaps ancestor worship, as well. It is really difficult to believe that the subject inside was living at the time of the cast. While imagining the process, I can't help but to feel empathetically claustrophobic and on the verge of asphyxiation, albeit only a mild response.