In March DMU metal students had the fantastic opportunity to have a masterclass with Chien-Wei Chang a silversmith (www.chienweichang.co.uk/). During the day we made a gilding metal vessel, that pushed our skills and learnt me a lot. Although the vessel wasn't highly finished it responded well to the work I had been doing, adding texture and surface pattern to metal.
Another opportunity some students were given was to visit Chien at New Walk Museum, Leicester, to help him set up his solo show. This was a fantastic opportunity where I learnt the process of setting up an exhibition, from painting plinths to arranging work on the shelves. During this time I was able to get to know Chien better, so I took the opportunity to ask him a few questions regarding the set up, to help me think about our exhibition in April.
Why is the exhibition space white? White allows for a plain background, it is less distracting and makes the objects stand out. White suggests purity, it offers reflections to be cast. A proper gallery feel should be white, like a diary room. The collection is about creativity and the work within jars is almost like a labatory. The fenced areas around the installations, breakdown the area and show something being kept in an area.
The way in which things are displayed to to focus more on the concept rather than the making.
There is one grey plinth what is that for? The one grey plinth is like a change, it makes people think, it is a breakdown in the room and will sit on it’s own.
What role do the fastenings play in your work? Fastenings are ways of getting in and out of somewhere/something. It plays with the idea of the British society in comparison to the Taiwan society.
Are the objects all found? The objects are either found or made. The pieces all relate to him, some have a symbolic meaning, they have a visual language, that reference to politics, as Chien feels as if he is forever being questioned about his identity.
Are there reasons why some pieces will be hung and others sit on the shelf? Some work as installations so they require areas to be hung alongside pieces that sit on a surface. The hung vessels relate to a washing line where things get put out to dry - squeeze the liquid out. What is inside the object is more important than the object. The use of glass is transparency.
There is a large vessel, with money from different countries in it. This vessel will be part filled with water, in Taiwan this sybolises fortune. Money reflects the competition between nature.
There is one silver bamboo vessel in the exhibition, this has a really strong meaning behind. It looks different because it has a high quality finish. Serious message about Chien, he uses his background to sell work, which he believes it is something he has to do, but it abuses his heritage.
Why are you having installation areas? This area will have some of his large scale pieces in like ladels and containers. It allows him to relate his work directly back to the nature where he gets his inspiration from.
After seeing his exhibition I can fully understand why he has displayed things the way he has. The white plinths and background allow you to remain focused on his work, to question it and to think what Chien is trying to visually convey.
The exhibition space is quite big, which at first I thought would make his work look lost, but it has the opposite effect. Instead it allows you to clearly view each piece seperately. The flow of the exhibition was lovely, with each piece being placed precisely on the shelf.
After helping Chien I have become much more aware of the amount of work that goes into setting an exhibition up and the fact that it isn’t a quick and easy thing to do!!!
Chiens work below.
