I desire an equal creative relationship between material and me. Mujun Liu interviewed by Klimt02

中文版 - Chinese version      

What's local and universal in your artistic work?
In terms of creative methods and creative logic, I am deeply effected by Eastern culture. This may be a concern to the language logic of my mother tongue Chinese, which is a bit like the creative way of “images” in Chinese. As far as my work, I am used to taking complex emotions from the timeline, then extend the emotion itself into subtle imagination and feelings. as for the form and material production, modern ceramic art and modern sculpture have given me great inspiration, so I have a strong interest in form creation and materiality.


What do you expect when you show your work to the public (for example, with an exhibition)?
I hope that the viewers could have a feeling of resonance and release in my works. Even if there is only a little, it is a great encouragement and comfort to me.


How important is handmade for you in your development? What role does technics and technology play in your development?
Handcrafting is very important in my creation, because we cannot ignore the characters of the material themselves. Handmade like a direct way of communication, face to face. I don't like the feeling of driving materials, which is a bit strong and conceited. I think materials need to be respected, like respecting plants, respecting nature and living spirits, so hand creation is a good way to understand materials. I desire an equal creative relationship between material and me.
If the work is a flower, then the craft is the soil or the flower pot. I think the craft is the basis of the work. I once worked on the creation of ceramic sculptures. In the process, I could hardly burn out the works at first, and gradually mastered the craft to burn the complete works. The feeling during this time was the more craft you mastered, the more works you can create, the more form material could present to you. Creators and materials are like people who speak two different languages. Craftsmanship is a language they use together. When the craftsmanship is mastered, the creators and materials will talk more and more congenially, so that cooperation will be more works.


When you start making a new piece what is your process? How much of it is a pre-formulated plan and how much do you let the material spontaneity lead you?
I will capture my feelings and emotions in my life, which is the source of my new work. Then various forms begin to appear in the brain, but those forms are usually vague, or I don't want to imagine it too clearly. However, in the process of production, the process method I plan is more specific. I like to design the molding method of each set of works and do the molding test of the materials by myself. This is a very interesting part for me because it is the part that best reflects the character of the material. In the case of ceramics, even if they use the same process, different muds appear differently. In my creation, I want to be able to interact with the material, so that the material has its own space to play. So when the work is finished, I often have unexpected places, because that is created by material themselves.


Are there any other areas besides the jewels present in your work?
Before the jewelry creation, I spent years in the creation of ceramic sculptures. In those years. Exploring the ceramic materials took me a lot of times, which made me have a strong feeling for it. I tried to anthropomorphize materials, communicate with them, discover their characteristics, and gradually evolved into my way, or my attitude, to explore the material. Many times, I will involuntarily bring the sense of space of sculpture into jewelry. I hope that the work can be viewed from multiple angles. This may be the habit that I formed in years of sculpture creation.


The last work, book, film, city that moved me was...
I like the ambiguity in the Giacometti sculpture. I like the solemnity of Roscoe's paintings. I like the broken and confused emotions in director Ye Lou‘s movie Spring fever. I like the contrary stares and inclusiveness of Jingdezhen.


What/who is the biggest influence in your career?
I think it is my growing environment because China has changed too much in the past century, people's way of life, place of life, and way of thinking are undergoing tremendous changes. This feeling is specific in my growth. Just like the situation of running people, who are intensifying each other's distance while running, there is no time to breathe, and no one dares to stop. This kind of high-speed social change gives me a sense of turmoil in the soul, and also gives me a strong desire to express, so that I can not help but pay attention to the rapid breathing of people running.


Which piece or job gave you more satisfaction?
I am quite satisfied with the expression of the group Touch, because in my previous works, the expression of emotion is relatively simple, it seems that it can be specific to a certain word, but emotion is a complex energy, it is a sort of feeling that is hard to be summarized by any language. In the Touch group, I tried to express the richness and complexity of this kind of feeling. I think I have done a part, and the creation process of this group of works has inspired my later creation.


What is your source to get information?
I like to capture the moments in my life, slowing down for a second, I see a curve of falling leaves and curves across the air. This curve created by nature, will be left in my mind. I also like to observe the texture of nature, such as the marks deposited by seawater on rocks for years, or the natural texture of marble. When we are used to observing the world in the size of the human body, many common things will be ignored by us. Once break through this perspective, I will see many details of the microcosm, such as the veins of the leaves, the lines of the cat's pupils, each micro world is like a thick album, giving me information.


Describe your personality in 3 words, describe your work in 3 words.
Me: Sensitive, Emotional, Anxiety.
Works: Bright-coloured, Fragile, Alive.