EXTUDER

I was inspired by the audience’s feedback that my works look like they come from 3D printers, which stimulates me to think about the relationship between handmade pieces and machine-made pieces. What’s going to happen if I utilize the extruder machine to produce clay tubes; what if handmade pieces look perfect and precise, but machine-made pieces look like rough and inexact? I embrace the idea of sculpture in its broadest sense and explore both the formal and performative aspects of engaging with the material. I explore different ways of shaping clay—not only by my hands but also by equipment — clay extruder.

Meanwhile, I recognized the clay extruder is the best tool I ever found that brings together the ideas of holes and airflow in one movement — extruding. When I press the clay into the extruder, the reaction of the clay shows me how strong it is; the air bubbles inside of it always pop and make holes on the tube which can always tell stories of airflow by its shape. After changing the plasticity of clay and the angle of the hollow die kit in the extruder, I can adjust how much the tube is curved, but I could never know what the specific shape of the tube will be like.