Tianhao Xu 许天浩

A film in three parts, observing objects / materials.
壶粥泥 – Jug, Porridge, Clay

Objects is an early video piece. It explores the formal qualities of ordinary objects and materials through their moments of stillness and change. The three sections of the film were conceived separately, and later organised into a single piece.

The first part, Jug, was motivated by an inquiry into the ontology of objects and their classification. What do we mean by a ‘jug’? What constitutes a ‘jug’? Can a ‘jug’ be something else? Part two, Porridge, was a more spontaneous piece driven by observation into an ordinary cooking experience. As the liquid is boiled and cooled, it passes through several states, forming a landscape across the crockery. The last part, Clay, developed out of the artist’s pottery practice, and is centred around the formal qualities and physical reactions of the material under different conditions.

Objects reflects the artist’s early interest in materials, rhythms, and processes of change, which would later be informed and developed in particular by Buddhist ideas of momentariness and impermanence.