Reflection

In Suzhou, my hometown, porcelain has long been a symbol of elegance, history, and cultural memory. Through my observations at local museums, I’ve noticed that each qing hua ci (blue-and-white porcelain) vessel tells a story that encapsulates the beauty and values of its own era. In my painting, I used clay to sculpt a broken porcelain jar held by “me", and surrounded her with shelves of vases. From ancient natural landscapes, my mother’s childhood in green, playful Suzhou, and my own childhood represented through modern cities, the bottles symbolize the different periods of time and its own authenticity. However, the jar in my arms which represents the upcoming era is cracked. On its surface are the industrial zones, factories, and smoke, symbolizing today’s environmental crisis and how it destroys the beauty that will represent our generation for the future community to see. My mom once told me, “I used to catch frogs near the river after school. I wish you had that, too.” That moment shaped this artwork. I realized I’ve never known the Suzhou she did. For me, “going outside” often means walking beside traffic, not nature. Through this piece, I want to highlight how the connection between humans and nature has weakened with each generation. If porcelain vessels once captured beauty, what will ours vessel reflect -- pollution, damage, or regret? This painting is a call to action: to preserve not only our cultural heritage, but also the natural world that inspired it.