Old inspiration (2)

A ceramic collection named Sky Blue by artist Huo Yijin. Huo's work draws artistic elements from ancient Ru ware, a rare type of Chinese porcelain famous for its pale-blue glaze. [Photo provided to China Daily]

This explains why after Chan was invited to exhibit at Craft: The Reset, an exhibition being held in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, through Thursday, he turned the space meant for him into a miniature library that juxtaposes his designs and some old items from his collection, and invites the audience to study the connection between the two.

Design Society, a hub for cultural activities in Shenzhen's Shekou district, is hosting the exhibition at its main gallery to show how the work of contemporary designers sheds new light on traditional crafts and materials, which, as Chan says, "would always have value for people to preserve and inherit".

Craft: The Reset shows how designers and artists, at home and abroad, have revived old handicraft through a modern approach and aesthetics that are of new value to people.

Ole Bouman, director of Design Society, says what the featured designers have been doing should not be interpreted as creating "a nostalgic feeling for old-fashioned craft and traditions" but instead they demonstrate a flexibility in adopting new technology and cultural experiences and reflecting contemporary ways of living and doing business.

He says their practice shows that craft can play an important role in envisioning the future, uniting communities and protecting the environment.

Designer Huo Yijin sources inspiration from the 1,000-year-old Ru ware, a rare type of Chinese porcelain famous for its pale-blue glaze. The color is often referred to as sky blue.

Huo, who is also a lecturer at the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing, designed a ceramic series named Sky Blue in 2016 that is shown at the ongoing exhibition. The vases are fashioned in the shape of Ru ware and wear a mellow glaze with gray shades. But rather than reiterating the elegant brilliance of Ru porcelain, Huo dwells on air pollution that has deprived many Chinese cities of a blue sky. The glaze of each vase from his series corresponds to a changing color of the sky when subjected to different levels of polluted air.