HOLES

The first hole made through my work was hidden.

Due to a simple technical reason, holes ensure that internal air is let out during the firing process. The air convection in a kiln, involving extraordinarily high temperature and material shrinkage, guaranteeing sculptures that wouldn’t be destroyed with the pressure difference. A hole is a passage that enables air convection in kilns. These holes are often placed in an invisible corner or at the bottom of the sculpture, hidden from plain sight.

However, a hole itself has as much shape-meaning as a solid mass; it bends and stretches to expand the surface area of a sculpture within a limited space. In my work, holes play a similar significance as the blank space in painting or the pauses in piano music. I use holes as the extension of the surface and enter into a dialogue with the material to discover and create something new: space. The wall is broken, holes as connectors create dialogues between the inside and outside. They attract viewers’ eyes, leading their gaze into the empty space inside, otherwise ignored. Holes expand the range of sculptures without using solid mass — they act as transformers — turning the air around the sculpture into a part of my work.