To a Circle by Yiyan Zhou at Venice Architecture Biennale

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Yiyan Zhou

In 2012, I saw a bamboo circle ... ...

Three years later, I started making circles  ... ... porcelain circles
 
Simple circles, circles composedwith several pieces, broken circles, reconstructed circles  ... ...

I want to make circles, the circles of life.
We build, destroy and rebuild circles. 
We are trying to join another circle.
These circles are fragile because we are fragile beings ... ...
 
«To a circle»
I was born to enlarge a circle
I was in this circle
I left my circle
I feel lost
I feel
...
...
All alone
I want to join my circle
He brings me back to a circle
My circle
On this path
I found faces that I knew
I feel good
/ on 28-02-15, Saint-Germain, Paris


Nothing is perfect on this earth, because one is born naturally with defects.
Between human beings, we all have our different goals. But from time to time we encounter difficulties to reach our ends and we get lost, then we recover.
However, the most beautiful thing is us, we are all on the same path to join together in this circle. It's a shame for some of them who do not realize it yet. But luckily we have the same hope ...
 
This reflexion has moved me to create this plate: the Earth, covered with pieces of porcelain, all different, that slowly assemble in a spiral and are linked together by a string, which forms the start of a large circle-shaped necklace.
This spiral goes inside and outside the necklace and represents the united humans on the way to the Circle.
 
Before this project, I made a smaller version of this piece that could be worn as a necklace. I called it « set of jewellery ». I always wanted to make a more sculptural version of it. GAA foundation invitation to exhibit in «Venice Design» has finally given me the opportunity to realise this project: A large brass circle with spiralling pieces of porcelain linked with musical strings. 
 
I also wanted to add porcelain clinging sounds mixed with double bass music and young girl’s voice to accompany the sculpture. This music track « To a circle » is specially composed by Marcelo Milchberg and is played in the loop from inside the sculpture. The recording was done with Michel Frechina (Double bass), Camila Milchberg (voice) and engineered by Jean François Sandoz.

Working procedures of porcelain circle -
The circle is modelled in a single strip of porcelain paste then cut. The fragments on the brass tray are patterned in porcelain in circles of different sizes and shapes then broken before the ring.


Backstage sound recordings of "porcelain rain" -
For the installation of this sculpture, a music background "To a Circle" was composed for double bass, porcelain and a girl's voice.


Check the working process image, record process and music track on her website.

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