January 24, 2023 • 33 mins
Steph catches up with artist Shirley Wu, who is known for her glass sculptures containing coloured oils. They chat about how her work is informed by previous training in aromatherapy and bodywork, and ultimately underpinned by mindfulness. Shirley is currently an artist-in-residence at Nexus Arts and gives us some insight into her upcoming exhibition Find that Pace as part of the Adelaide Fringe Festival 2023.
Show Notes
- Interview Transcript (PDF)
- Nexus Arts
- bodywork (noun): therapiesand techniques in complementary medicine that involve touching or manipulating the body.
- aromatherapy (noun): the use of aromatic plant extracts and essential oils for healing and cosmetic purposes.
- Shirley Wu, Holistic Therapy 3, 2019, Blown glass filled with essential oil, cork. 30cm x 20cm x 15cm
- City Rural Emerging Artist Award: a SALA Award sponsored by City Rural Insurance. See past winners.
- Peter Minson
- FELTspace – Artist-Run-Initiative / Gallery in Adelaide
- Ursula Halpin
- Canberra Glassworks
- Chinese calligraphy [wikipedia]
- joss house (noun): a Chinese temple
- Kuan Ti Temple [sa.gov.au]
- Architecture Museum – UniSA
- Out of Site, curated by Melinda Rankin at the Lounge Gallery (SASA Gallery) in 2006, featuring Stephanie Radok, Annalise Rees and Qi Zhang. [PDF]
- Find that Pace as part of the Adelaide Fringe Festival
- ShirleyWuJianzhen.com
- @ShirleyWu.Jewellery
Shirley would like to acknowledge Bridget Currie and Jingwei Bu, her mentors for her current project; Dr Christine Garnaut and Dr Julie Collins from the Architecture Museum at UniSA; and Dr Eleen Deprez who is writing the essay for Find that Pace.
Main image by Juan Van Staden courtesy of the artist and the University of South Australia
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
[gentle music]
Steph (00:15):
Hello and welcome to the SALA podcast. My name is Steph
and today I'm catching up withartist Shirley Wu in her studio,
sort of... are we underground inNexus Arts?
Shirley (00:26):
Yes, I think we're in the basement
Steph (00:28):
Anyway, it's very cool. I've never been in this room
before and yeah, so that's wherewe're catching up. We are
meeting on the traditional landsof the Kaurna People and we pay
our respects to Elders past,present and emerging. Alright,
Shirley, thank you for makingtime today. I know you're very
busy.I'm excited to hear aboutyour practice and where you draw
(00:50):
inspiration for the work thatyou make and what you've got on
the go. But for those who mightnot have seen your past work
before, can you share what kindof materials you like to work
with?
Shirley (01:02):
Sure. Thank you, Steph, for having me today. So although
I'm more recognized as a glassartist now, but I have been
working in a wide range ofmaterials such as found
riverstones, silicone, ceramic,metal, slime form
Steph (01:25):
Did you say slime?
Shirley (01:26):
Yeah.
Steph (01:28):
My gosh, you've got everything. And do you consider
yourself like a...? Because Iknow you're a jeweller,
you're... is it sculpture? Or doyou... I don't know. I guess
you've got many hats, I guess.
Shirley (01:39):
Yeah, I would like to explore more and more, you know,
art form, medium materials aswell, because I don't take that
as
Steph (01:49):
not sort of limited to one identity of [medium]?
Shirley (01:52):
no, they're my tools to express or interact. Although
glass has been a dominant mediumfor me in the last two, three
years. So I I've literally beenhave been mainly making with
glass and also with clay. Buteven in my glass sculptures, I
(02:17):
work with other mediums such assola wood, essential oil, I like
to you know, get to know thecharacteristics of each
material.
Steph (02:27):
And how do you sort of simply describe or sum up your
artwork to somebody new?
Shirley (02:34):
So the key words in my works are like sensory
experience in body to experiencehealing, they can be involved in
the process of making orcreating, or the expressive or
interactive physical works. Someof my earlier works encouraged
people to touch to feel thetemperature, the tactility, to
(02:59):
smell. My practice is also aboutpersonal development and
exploration of identity, ahealing journey, and meditation.
Unknown (03:10):
[gentle music]
Steph (03:19):
I can't wait to get into the use of the oils. But first,
let's just quiz you about theprogression of your education.
So you've got threequalifications from three
different countries, a Bachelorof Arts in jewelry and
accessories from MiddlesexUniversity in London, Master of
Design and Contemporary Art fromUniSA, but the sandwiched in
(03:40):
between those you studieddeployment of aromatherapy and
bodywork in Hong Kong. And youmentioned that this particular
area of study, holistic therapy,that's a source of inspiration
for your work. And I do get thatvery strongly looking at your
work and the use of you know,oils and things like that. Can
you I mean, maybe explain whatholistic therapy entails so that
(04:03):
we can understand how itconnects to your work?
Shirley (04:06):
Sure. It's interesting that you mention the
aromatherapy diploma I did inHong Kong. It brings me back to
the last project I did before Ileft London to China. It was
about massage. I made a seriesof hand-held body objects that
(04:29):
can be used as massage tools.Yeah. I think that was a seed
planted in me.
Steph (04:36):
Yeah, that was an early work, wasn't it?
Shirley (04:38):
Yeah. And that was healing. I think that was a big
theme and becoming likecontinuously a big theme in my
work as well. And that's whatbrought me into doing art
therapy later.
Steph (04:56):
Cool. Amazing.
Shirley (04:58):
And to answer your question
therapy was coming from thetraining in Hong Kong,
aromatherapy and bodyworktraining in Hong Kong. It
encouraged me to see myself as awhole.
Steph (05:18):
as a whole?
Shirley (05:19):
Yes. Yeah, like as a whole experience.
Steph (05:22):
Yeah. This I guess that's in the word holistic, isn't it?
Shirley (05:26):
Yeah, literally. So this body and mind are connected
to the wider world in many ways.
Steph (05:36):
That's a great entry point for a practice, actually.
Because, yeah, you're not justthinking materially, you're
thinking on many levels ofconnection.
Shirley (05:45):
Yeah, thanks to the great tutor I had in Hong Kong.
And like, that literally broughtme back to the memory when I was
traveling intensively betweenMainland China, where home
is/was, to Hong Kong across theborder every weeks for a year.
Steph (06:09):
To do the training? Yeah wow.
Shirley (06:11):
Yeah. Yeah. It was like I was between different
transportations from car, tohigh speed train, to Metro, to
train again, to bus, literally,you know, you have to go through
four, five different kind oftransportation.
Steph (06:28):
ironically, you would have needed a massage after all
that.
Shirley (06:31):
And it was crowded as well.
Steph (06:35):
Yeah, wow. What an interesting time of your life
that would have been.
Shirley (06:39):
Yeah. And then like when I sit and in the class or
lay on a massage table, it wasall of a sudden a different
world. Very relaxed, verytherapeutic, self paced. And it
was surreal experience.
Steph (06:56):
Yeah. What a contrast. Yeah.
Shirley (06:58):
And this was a mirror of my life as well. Traveling in
between places, differentcultures. And that's, like, to
me, that was a constant loss ofstability. And also the sense of
belonging, the displacement. AndI needed something to anchor me.
(07:24):
And so jewellery making,aromatherapy, now glass and
Chinese calligraphy, they were,that's, I think that's how it
come.
Steph (07:34):
Yeah. So that sort of intentional mindfulness of
making and being present. Isthat sort of clawing back a bit
of that, you know, time andcontrol?
Shirley (07:43):
Yeah, literally. So when it comes into my practice,
the idea of holistic therapyhelps me to integrate my
separated mind and body; tomeditate through making. My body
(08:04):
is like, also become thematerial as well. My breath
become part of the process.Yeah.
Steph (08:15):
So it's so actually the as much as we can look at the
objects that you've produced,the process is significant and
very important in the making.And you know, it comes from a
place of this process benefitingyou first, and then you know,
expression of that. So that's,that's really cool.
Unknown (08:33):
[gentle music]
Steph (08:45):
Did you end up becoming a practitioner of aromatherapy and
bodywork as well? Or do youcontinue to do that alongside?
Or is it blurred with yourpractice?
Shirley (08:56):
That's an interesting question. Yes, I did actually go
on to practice as a massagetherapist for six years.
Steph (09:03):
Oh, wow.
Shirley (09:05):
And that wasn't the plan after I finished the
training. Until I moved toAustralia. I didn't know it
would become my survival skillto support my living and art
practice. But it was great. Themassage practice also kept me
(09:26):
doing repetitive movements, andbuild up rhythm as well of my
body. I get to know my handsreally well. It requires me to
focus on the sensation of myhand, how to handle my hand. And
these, were essentials inhealing of touching,
Steph (09:49):
Yeah, no hearing you talk about massage. It just sounds
like you're talking about yourpractice. So yeah, that is a
very clear connection. That'sreally cool. And I do really
like those early works. The sortof forms that... yeah I get that
impression. It's like, yeah, Ican almost feel the hands on my
back, you know, looking at thoseobjects. Now you were the winner
(10:11):
of the 2021 City Rural EmergingArtist Award as part of SALA
Festival with a glass sculpturethat kind of like undulated and
was filled with a yellow liquid,I'm assuming that it was an oil.
And I've seen similar ones fromyou with blue, green, orange
liquid inside. Some of them arefull, some of them are partially
(10:32):
full. And they usually havethese rather sweet little corks
holding the liquid in. This isprobably one of the types of
works that people would haveseen of yours. Can you tell me
about this series?
Shirley (10:44):
Yeah, sure. Um, I think this body of work that organic
hollow glass forms were made oftest tubing where like
laboratory used tubing.
Steph (11:01):
Really it's made out of test tubes?
Shirley (11:03):
Yeah. Well, that's where it comes from
Steph (11:07):
Oh, yeah.
Shirley (11:08):
Also people call them borosilicate glass or hard
glass. They have their veryspecific property. Compared to
other glass, like window glass,soft glass, optical glass. Um,
the starting point, for me was aprocess of trying to find a
(11:31):
solution for scent, and tostorage and diffuse the scent.
And then that led me to startlearning lamp working, which is
a technique that in glass I'musing today. And so during this
process, I was taught to makeregular shapes to bend glass to
(11:57):
join glass together, like inscientific glassblowing. But for
some reason, my character justdidn't like that. I like make
mistakes. So I did, I startedmaking the glass into very
organic shapes. And I reallyjust resonate with it with my
(12:19):
heart. So I started develop theglass or the glass has their own
mind
Steph (12:26):
mind of its own. Yeah.
Shirley (12:28):
And then they developed into quite quirky shapes.
Steph (12:34):
Yeah, it's hard to describe them almost. They just
kind of go in their owndirection.
Shirley (12:38):
Yeah, that's literally how I would describe it as well.
They have their own mind, theygo wherever they want. And I
often don't have physicalimagination of what it comes out
and
Steph (12:53):
you just have to see
Shirley (12:54):
I just have to see and follow its mind.
Steph (12:57):
Wow, that's so cool.
Shirley (12:59):
And also, later on, it became a process for me to
meditate, to rethinking,restructure. And it's also a
space for me to be able torethink, restructure my
thinking, like, my
Steph (13:16):
like, the way you think about your practice the way I
think about my practice?
Shirley (13:20):
yeah, also rethink my way of thinking about my life
and my culture, my identity. Sothere was a space there.
Steph (13:29):
So that process of making allows you that time.
Shirley (13:32):
Yeah
Steph (13:32):
That's so cool. Yeah. And I guess you've got a, when
you're in that unpredictablespace of I don't know what this
is going to turn out like, youdo just kind of have to come
back to basics and come back toyourself and just be in tune
with the material. Yeah.
Shirley (13:47):
Now that you said that, it literally brought me back to
when I was making a, because theunknown of the result, I have to
focus on the present moment; tofocus on my breath; to focus on
the state of the glass. Whetherits molten, what's the reference
point? What's the referencecolor? I have to focus on my
(14:12):
sensation, my hearing mysmelling my eyesight, and how I
feel the temperature as well.It's all of that. It's the
weight of the glass, thegravity, the rhythm, the
movement...
Steph (14:25):
It's all connected isn't it. Well, yeah, I guess there
would be nothing that makes youneed to be more present than
working with glass. Yeah, youcan't be not paying attention.
Shirley (14:38):
It is a very risky and dangerous process. If you take
that, you know, the torch can goup to thousands of degree. It
will burn anything, basically.
Steph (14:51):
So you need to be in that zone
Shirley (14:53):
super intense, super focused, but also very
meditative in the time. In a wayit's very weird.
Steph (15:01):
That is weird because the results are so... and you know,
what you get out of it is someditative and the sort of risk
and the danger is such a strangecontrast. But yeah, I guess it's
that's what balance is, isn'tit? That's that's sort of one
thing against another, so, verycool. I had not thought about
the danger.
Shirley (15:23):
I guess it will be the evidence of the processes as
well, like glass as a material.The transparency, the honey-like
consistency in molten state. Inmy previous mentor, Peter
Minson's words, he describesglass as a frozen fluid.
Steph (15:49):
Yeah, yeah.
Shirley (15:51):
So what you did to it, it literally has its own
mark-making. Yeah, if you, youknow, take that. And, of course,
it developed itself in theprocess as well.
Steph (16:04):
Yeah. That's so cool. Thanks Peter. Now, my first
encounter of your work was atFELTspace during I think, Fringe
Festival in 2021, and it was inthe backroom gallery and you
like walked in, and there werethese really tall columns of, I
think, parchment, -but I couldbe wrong- on the back wall. And
(16:27):
some of those sheets ofparchment were decorated with
Chinese calligraphy and some ofthem were, like, decorated with
the shadows of suspended glasssculptures, but they still
evoked that mark-making on thepaper. Can you please talk about
this work?
Shirley (16:45):
Of course, I remember those beautiful photos.
Steph (16:49):
Oh, yes, I took photos of it
Shirley (16:51):
of my work. That was great. The body of work was for
the first time I bought elementsfrom my traditional cultural
heritage, which is Chinese. Theseries of work was part of
(17:11):
FELTspace award program, where Ihad the chance to be mentored by
amazing glass artists UrsulaHalpin, and worked with the
supportive FELTspace team. Itwas an incredible experience and
also that connected to my nextopportunity: the Graduates in
(17:32):
residence in CanberraGlassworks. And also later on I
became part of the FELTspaceCommittee.
Steph (17:42):
What a great springboard. I think FELTspace is like that;
you sort of get in that circleand you just get absorbed - in a
good way.
Shirley (17:51):
Yeah, totally, totally. Um, so talking about the work,
it was, it was a process for meto restructure my knowing about
my traditional culture, and alsoto re-establish how I see my
upbringings, my culture and mysurroundings. And also, it was a
(18:16):
stage that I didn't focus onwhat the Chinese calligraphy
content was about. And one ofthe reasons why I this structure
of the of the calligraphy intoparts and strokes, because at
the time, I was trying to focuson the process of breathing on
(18:40):
both practice either Chinesecalligraphy and also
lampworking. It was a focus ofthe movement, the breath, the
lifting up the brush, anddropping down and holding the
breath and also relief thebreath along moving with my
brush.
Steph (19:00):
Wow. So it's almost like the breath work in mark making
or you know, whatever practiceit is, that is really cool. Did
you slow like, did you do thatthen slower to time with your
breath? Or did you just bemindful of it?
Shirley (19:17):
I was more of be mindful of my breath. And that
takes a lot of practice to do soand often I just get in and out
in and out. It's like practicingmeditation,
Steph (19:33):
oh like losing the focus and then bringing yourself back?
Shirley (19:35):
Yeah losing your focus and coming back to the focus
coming back to the breath again.And I think that also brings my
Chinese calligraphy practiceinto align[ment] between my how
my hand moves, how my mindmoves, how my body moves, at the
(19:56):
same time. And then lamp-workingtakes that practice to another
stage, which is slowing thewhole process of making one
stroke. So it will take me, Idon't know, 10 times more or
even longer, I don't know, tomake one stroke in glass, than
(20:20):
doing it in Chinese calligraphy.
Steph (20:22):
Wow. Yeah, that's just when you think like you'd
already slowed it down. You takeit to another level, it's like,
yeah, trying to make one strokeof a character, is it? Would you
call it a character?
Shirley (20:33):
A stroke
Steph (20:34):
Yeah. And then you're glass forming it.
Shirley (20:39):
So that slowness really helps me of thinking about the
shape of the stroke, and how itstarts, how it transformed, how
it go down and up again, andthen it ends sharply, or dully,
(21:00):
or rounding shapes. So theshapes was very much about the
process, the movement, thebreath itself. So then, at that
stage, I didn't want to bringany content. I remember at [the]
exhibition when I was sitting atthe gallery, there were quite a
(21:22):
few visitors specifically askedme about 'what's the content',
Steph (21:26):
Like what do what do they mean?
Shirley (21:27):
Yeah. And then I was, I wasn't prepared for the answer
at the time. But now when Ithink back, I really wasn't
actually trying to focus on thecontent at all. I want you to
see from either firstperspective or second
perspective, as in, its a shape.It's just like someone who cross
(21:51):
culture, doesn't understand thelanguage, but see it as a
beautiful mark making.
Unknown (21:56):
[gentle music]
Steph (22:11):
Now, seeing as we are catching up within the Nexus
building, I can only assume thatthere is a associated project or
outcome that we can expect tofollow. Can you please tell us
what you've got coming up?
Shirley (22:26):
Sure. I'm doing a three month studio residency at Nexus
at the moment. And that wouldcumulate to an exhibition at
Fringe Festival next month.
Steph (22:39):
Wonderful! That's so soon.
Shirley (22:43):
I know, it's only a month away. The opening is on
the 16th of February, I think.
Steph (22:49):
Wonderful. Yes, that is very soon, no pressure, no
pressure. And what kind of workor practice have you been doing?
Shirley (22:57):
In this project I'm doing a durational performance
that focus...
Steph (23:04):
Performance, that's new for you!
Shirley (23:04):
Yeah. It's a totally new area, for me a first time
experience outside of my comfortzone. Yeah. Never done
performance before. Not surelater on. But I'm very much
enjoying this process.
Steph (23:22):
And it even though it's a new, medium, I guess for you, it
still makes a lot of sense,given the goals of your
practice, and you know, whatyou're focusing on. So yes,
please, please tell me more,sorry I've interrupted.
Shirley (23:35):
So in this project, I focus on the embodied
experience, where I use my bodyas a tool for healing, through
mindfulness, throughconnections, through self
regulation. And that comingthrough my walkings, and also my
(23:59):
other meditative actions on thesite, more specifically at Nexus
courtyard on the disabilityramp.
Steph (24:08):
Oh ok yep the ramp that actually leads down into
[Nexus]. Yeah, because if anyonehasn't been to Nexus before, you
kind of got to go down to get toit. Yeah. Okay. So it's so
you're actually moving aroundthe site and drawing from that
experience?
Shirley (24:23):
Yeah. Actually, back to the question previously about
material in my work. I thinkthis time, my body is my
material.
Steph (24:32):
Wow.
Shirley (24:35):
Because my project is site-focused. I have been doing
walks, and a head-to-toe fullygrounded ritual at the Nexus
courtyard on the ramp, which ledme to be curious about the
history of the site.
Steph (24:51):
Yeah, so like, head to toe, like you're connecting,
you're lying sort of on theground.
Shirley (24:55):
I'm literally horizontal on the ground. On my
belly, on my face, on my thigh.Being present and fully touching
the ground.
Steph (25:09):
Yeah. And what did you say that led you to after that?
Shirley (25:13):
So it led me to be curious about what's behind this
site, like, what's the history?So I started digging the what
was before Nexus.
Steph (25:28):
Right? Yeah, what was here before Nexus.
Shirley (25:30):
yeah. Like what was it like in here like 100 years ago
or even longer. And what Ididn't expect was that I found
there was Joss House at thiscorner of Hindley Street and
Morphett Street, which isliterally where Nexus, Jam
(25:53):
Factory, and Mercury Cinema aretoday.
Steph (25:56):
And what's a joss house?
Shirley (25:58):
A joss house is, I think the term of joss house is
from Portuguese language. It's aChinese temple.
Steph (26:09):
Oh, wow.
Shirley (26:09):
Specifically, it was a Kuan Ti Temple, which is more of
a local Chinese belief.
Steph (26:18):
Yeah. Here! Amazing.
Shirley (26:21):
Yeah. And it was used by the local Chinese community
here who lives and works andobviously, you know, around this
area, and where Hindley Streettoday, it used to be a center of
Chinatown.
Steph (26:41):
Wow I had no idea.
Shirley (26:45):
I had no idea until I went to one day I went to the
architecture Museum at UniSA.And there was a staff there and
she has worked in UniSA for morethan 20 years.
Steph (27:00):
Oh, wow, what a wealth of knowledge.
Shirley (27:01):
That's the Yeah. She had the rich knowledge and
memory about an exhibition. Whohas acknowledged this history
Steph (27:11):
Oh, wow. Yeah.
Shirley (27:13):
But otherwise, I can't see any recognition and any road
signs, anything about thisvanished history?
Steph (27:22):
Yeah nothing to indicate what was there?
Shirley (27:25):
No. And that joss house was sitting there for almost, it
was 94 years.
Steph (27:32):
Wow
Shirley (27:32):
Yeah, almost 100 years unto 84. That was when it was
demolished.
Steph (27:38):
Wow. And so how then, like, knowing that, how is that
feeding back into this project?
Shirley (27:46):
I think like as the very important meaning of it, as
a new generation Chineseimmigrant artist as well. This
bonds me to the place, to thesite, to the land, even further.
Apart from the physical bond,which I've been doing, I
(28:12):
developed a sense of belonging.Also the emotional bond as well,
the cultural bond that more than100 years ago, there was a group
of people who were who were likeme,
Steph (28:26):
yeah, and they were here.
Shirley (28:28):
Yeah, here, travelled all this way. It was even
longer, harder traveling then,and try to survive here; try to
make a living, try to you know,develop their family here, their
life here. So this was afantastic discovery for me.
Steph (28:51):
Yeah gosh, I almost have chills. Oh, wow. And so what
kind of... like to picture theoutcome... like you'll have the
exhibition, will you be doingregular performance? Or will
there be remnants ofperformance? What will be in the
space?
Shirley (29:11):
The space will be focused on bringing that
performance practice into thegallery space. There it will be
shown as installation work.Where outlining more of a focus
(29:33):
on internal experience of theperformance that I have been
doing at the courtyard. So Ihave things like I have been
wearing white, specificallyusing my body as a canvas and
(29:54):
trying to pick up whatever it'son the ground with the
experience.
Steph (29:59):
Oh right, so I'm looking at it behind you, so that I can
see a white t shirts, some whitepants and gloves, some socks. So
that's the sort of debris ofwhat you've been, of those
performances and that wow, okay.
Shirley (30:13):
Yeah. So for me, that's my process, but also it's
documentation, as well as it's awork by itself.
Steph (30:23):
Yeah. Yeah.
Shirley (30:25):
That capsulated the time, the environment, my body
as well as in the skeleton. Andalso the land.
Steph (30:40):
Yeah. Wow. Very different to what you've done in the past.
It's so exciting. Oh good.
Shirley (30:47):
Yeah. As I said, this is totally new. it's totally out
of my comfort zone. Veryexciting. Very scary. But I
think this is a turning point.It's a great turning point for
me, that I have been using mybody -my hands more
specifically.
Steph (31:06):
Yeah, you always have been.
Shirley (31:07):
Yeah. But yeah, now I wanted to extend it to my whole
body. I want to, you know...this, this body with memory,
with trauma, with all thistracks, marks of time; How do I
release it? How do I open it up?How do I get embodied experience
(31:31):
and use this body to heal me.
Steph (31:36):
I don't think we can top that. We might have to end
there. Well, we're very, veryexcited to see so yeah, 16th of
February is when it opens. Oh,and you mentioned before that
there'll be some workshops? Sotell me about those just
quickly.
Shirley (31:55):
The workshop will be open to public, having people
over to join me to do theperformance experience what I
experienced. So that will be agroup workshop or group
performance. If you take that.The audience will be able to
(32:17):
pick up the whole experience.
Steph (32:20):
Wow, that's fantastic. And they'll just, there'll be
booking information, actually,we'll put it in the show notes.
Perfect. Oh, what anopportunity. Oh, well, on that
note, I think we've tickled ourbrains plenty. So maybe we'll
leave it at that. I think I'veworn you out. Thank you so much.
Shirley (32:38):
Thank you Steph.
Steph (32:39):
And yeah, put all that information in there and we'll
have to get to that exhibition.
(33:15):
[gentle music]
[gentle music]
Steph (00:15):
Hello and welcome to the SALA podcast. My name is Steph
and today I'm catching up withartist Shirley Wu in her studio,
sort of... are we underground inNexus Arts?
Shirley (00:26):
Yes, I think we're in the basement
Steph (00:28):
Anyway, it's very cool. I've never been in this room
before and yeah, so that's wherewe're catching up. We are
meeting on the traditional landsof the Kaurna People and we pay
our respects to Elders past,present and emerging. Alright,
Shirley, thank you for makingtime today. I know you're very
busy.I'm excited to hear aboutyour practice and where you draw
(00:50):
inspiration for the work thatyou make and what you've got on
the go. But for those who mightnot have seen your past work
before, can you share what kindof materials you like to work
with?
Shirley (01:02):
Sure. Thank you, Steph, for having me today. So although
I'm more recognized as a glassartist now, but I have been
working in a wide range ofmaterials such as found
riverstones, silicone, ceramic,metal, slime form
Steph (01:25):
Did you say slime?
Shirley (01:26):
Yeah.
Steph (01:28):
My gosh, you've got everything. And do you consider
yourself like a...? Because Iknow you're a jeweller,
you're... is it sculpture? Or doyou... I don't know. I guess
you've got many hats, I guess.
Shirley (01:39):
Yeah, I would like to explore more and more, you know,
art form, medium materials aswell, because I don't take that
as
Steph (01:49):
not sort of limited to one identity of [medium]?
Shirley (01:52):
no, they're my tools to express or interact. Although
glass has been a dominant mediumfor me in the last two, three
years. So I I've literally beenhave been mainly making with
glass and also with clay. Buteven in my glass sculptures, I
(02:17):
work with other mediums such assola wood, essential oil, I like
to you know, get to know thecharacteristics of each
material.
Steph (02:27):
And how do you sort of simply describe or sum up your
artwork to somebody new?
Shirley (02:34):
So the key words in my works are like sensory
experience in body to experiencehealing, they can be involved in
the process of making orcreating, or the expressive or
interactive physical works. Someof my earlier works encouraged
people to touch to feel thetemperature, the tactility, to
(02:59):
smell. My practice is also aboutpersonal development and
exploration of identity, ahealing journey, and meditation.
Unknown (03:10):
[gentle music]
Steph (03:19):
I can't wait to get into the use of the oils. But first,
let's just quiz you about theprogression of your education.
So you've got threequalifications from three
different countries, a Bachelorof Arts in jewelry and
accessories from MiddlesexUniversity in London, Master of
Design and Contemporary Art fromUniSA, but the sandwiched in
(03:40):
between those you studieddeployment of aromatherapy and
bodywork in Hong Kong. And youmentioned that this particular
area of study, holistic therapy,that's a source of inspiration
for your work. And I do get thatvery strongly looking at your
work and the use of you know,oils and things like that. Can
you I mean, maybe explain whatholistic therapy entails so that
(04:03):
we can understand how itconnects to your work?
Shirley (04:06):
Sure. It's interesting that you mention the
aromatherapy diploma I did inHong Kong. It brings me back to
the last project I did before Ileft London to China. It was
about massage. I made a seriesof hand-held body objects that
(04:29):
can be used as massage tools.Yeah. I think that was a seed
planted in me.
Steph (04:36):
Yeah, that was an early work, wasn't it?
Shirley (04:38):
Yeah. And that was healing. I think that was a big
theme and becoming likecontinuously a big theme in my
work as well. And that's whatbrought me into doing art
therapy later.
Steph (04:56):
Cool. Amazing.
Shirley (04:58):
And to answer your question
therapy was coming from thetraining in Hong Kong,
aromatherapy and bodyworktraining in Hong Kong. It
encouraged me to see myself as awhole.
Steph (05:18):
as a whole?
Shirley (05:19):
Yes. Yeah, like as a whole experience.
Steph (05:22):
Yeah. This I guess that's in the word holistic, isn't it?
Shirley (05:26):
Yeah, literally. So this body and mind are connected
to the wider world in many ways.
Steph (05:36):
That's a great entry point for a practice, actually.
Because, yeah, you're not justthinking materially, you're
thinking on many levels ofconnection.
Shirley (05:45):
Yeah, thanks to the great tutor I had in Hong Kong.
And like, that literally broughtme back to the memory when I was
traveling intensively betweenMainland China, where home
is/was, to Hong Kong across theborder every weeks for a year.
Steph (06:09):
To do the training? Yeah wow.
Shirley (06:11):
Yeah. Yeah. It was like I was between different
transportations from car, tohigh speed train, to Metro, to
train again, to bus, literally,you know, you have to go through
four, five different kind oftransportation.
Steph (06:28):
ironically, you would have needed a massage after all
that.
Shirley (06:31):
And it was crowded as well.
Steph (06:35):
Yeah, wow. What an interesting time of your life
that would have been.
Shirley (06:39):
Yeah. And then like when I sit and in the class or
lay on a massage table, it wasall of a sudden a different
world. Very relaxed, verytherapeutic, self paced. And it
was surreal experience.
Steph (06:56):
Yeah. What a contrast. Yeah.
Shirley (06:58):
And this was a mirror of my life as well. Traveling in
between places, differentcultures. And that's, like, to
me, that was a constant loss ofstability. And also the sense of
belonging, the displacement. AndI needed something to anchor me.
(07:24):
And so jewellery making,aromatherapy, now glass and
Chinese calligraphy, they were,that's, I think that's how it
come.
Steph (07:34):
Yeah. So that sort of intentional mindfulness of
making and being present. Isthat sort of clawing back a bit
of that, you know, time andcontrol?
Shirley (07:43):
Yeah, literally. So when it comes into my practice,
the idea of holistic therapyhelps me to integrate my
separated mind and body; tomeditate through making. My body
(08:04):
is like, also become thematerial as well. My breath
become part of the process.Yeah.
Steph (08:15):
So it's so actually the as much as we can look at the
objects that you've produced,the process is significant and
very important in the making.And you know, it comes from a
place of this process benefitingyou first, and then you know,
expression of that. So that's,that's really cool.
Unknown (08:33):
[gentle music]
Steph (08:45):
Did you end up becoming a practitioner of aromatherapy and
bodywork as well? Or do youcontinue to do that alongside?
Or is it blurred with yourpractice?
Shirley (08:56):
That's an interesting question. Yes, I did actually go
on to practice as a massagetherapist for six years.
Steph (09:03):
Oh, wow.
Shirley (09:05):
And that wasn't the plan after I finished the
training. Until I moved toAustralia. I didn't know it
would become my survival skillto support my living and art
practice. But it was great. Themassage practice also kept me
(09:26):
doing repetitive movements, andbuild up rhythm as well of my
body. I get to know my handsreally well. It requires me to
focus on the sensation of myhand, how to handle my hand. And
these, were essentials inhealing of touching,
Steph (09:49):
Yeah, no hearing you talk about massage. It just sounds
like you're talking about yourpractice. So yeah, that is a
very clear connection. That'sreally cool. And I do really
like those early works. The sortof forms that... yeah I get that
impression. It's like, yeah, Ican almost feel the hands on my
back, you know, looking at thoseobjects. Now you were the winner
(10:11):
of the 2021 City Rural EmergingArtist Award as part of SALA
Festival with a glass sculpturethat kind of like undulated and
was filled with a yellow liquid,I'm assuming that it was an oil.
And I've seen similar ones fromyou with blue, green, orange
liquid inside. Some of them arefull, some of them are partially
(10:32):
full. And they usually havethese rather sweet little corks
holding the liquid in. This isprobably one of the types of
works that people would haveseen of yours. Can you tell me
about this series?
Shirley (10:44):
Yeah, sure. Um, I think this body of work that organic
hollow glass forms were made oftest tubing where like
laboratory used tubing.
Steph (11:01):
Really it's made out of test tubes?
Shirley (11:03):
Yeah. Well, that's where it comes from
Steph (11:07):
Oh, yeah.
Shirley (11:08):
Also people call them borosilicate glass or hard
glass. They have their veryspecific property. Compared to
other glass, like window glass,soft glass, optical glass. Um,
the starting point, for me was aprocess of trying to find a
(11:31):
solution for scent, and tostorage and diffuse the scent.
And then that led me to startlearning lamp working, which is
a technique that in glass I'musing today. And so during this
process, I was taught to makeregular shapes to bend glass to
(11:57):
join glass together, like inscientific glassblowing. But for
some reason, my character justdidn't like that. I like make
mistakes. So I did, I startedmaking the glass into very
organic shapes. And I reallyjust resonate with it with my
(12:19):
heart. So I started develop theglass or the glass has their own
mind
Steph (12:26):
mind of its own. Yeah.
Shirley (12:28):
And then they developed into quite quirky shapes.
Steph (12:34):
Yeah, it's hard to describe them almost. They just
kind of go in their owndirection.
Shirley (12:38):
Yeah, that's literally how I would describe it as well.
They have their own mind, theygo wherever they want. And I
often don't have physicalimagination of what it comes out
and
Steph (12:53):
you just have to see
Shirley (12:54):
I just have to see and follow its mind.
Steph (12:57):
Wow, that's so cool.
Shirley (12:59):
And also, later on, it became a process for me to
meditate, to rethinking,restructure. And it's also a
space for me to be able torethink, restructure my
thinking, like, my
Steph (13:16):
like, the way you think about your practice the way I
think about my practice?
Shirley (13:20):
yeah, also rethink my way of thinking about my life
and my culture, my identity. Sothere was a space there.
Steph (13:29):
So that process of making allows you that time.
Shirley (13:32):
Yeah
Steph (13:32):
That's so cool. Yeah. And I guess you've got a, when
you're in that unpredictablespace of I don't know what this
is going to turn out like, youdo just kind of have to come
back to basics and come back toyourself and just be in tune
with the material. Yeah.
Shirley (13:47):
Now that you said that, it literally brought me back to
when I was making a, because theunknown of the result, I have to
focus on the present moment; tofocus on my breath; to focus on
the state of the glass. Whetherits molten, what's the reference
point? What's the referencecolor? I have to focus on my
(14:12):
sensation, my hearing mysmelling my eyesight, and how I
feel the temperature as well.It's all of that. It's the
weight of the glass, thegravity, the rhythm, the
movement...
Steph (14:25):
It's all connected isn't it. Well, yeah, I guess there
would be nothing that makes youneed to be more present than
working with glass. Yeah, youcan't be not paying attention.
Shirley (14:38):
It is a very risky and dangerous process. If you take
that, you know, the torch can goup to thousands of degree. It
will burn anything, basically.
Steph (14:51):
So you need to be in that zone
Shirley (14:53):
super intense, super focused, but also very
meditative in the time. In a wayit's very weird.
Steph (15:01):
That is weird because the results are so... and you know,
what you get out of it is someditative and the sort of risk
and the danger is such a strangecontrast. But yeah, I guess it's
that's what balance is, isn'tit? That's that's sort of one
thing against another, so, verycool. I had not thought about
the danger.
Shirley (15:23):
I guess it will be the evidence of the processes as
well, like glass as a material.The transparency, the honey-like
consistency in molten state. Inmy previous mentor, Peter
Minson's words, he describesglass as a frozen fluid.
Steph (15:49):
Yeah, yeah.
Shirley (15:51):
So what you did to it, it literally has its own
mark-making. Yeah, if you, youknow, take that. And, of course,
it developed itself in theprocess as well.
Steph (16:04):
Yeah. That's so cool. Thanks Peter. Now, my first
encounter of your work was atFELTspace during I think, Fringe
Festival in 2021, and it was inthe backroom gallery and you
like walked in, and there werethese really tall columns of, I
think, parchment, -but I couldbe wrong- on the back wall. And
(16:27):
some of those sheets ofparchment were decorated with
Chinese calligraphy and some ofthem were, like, decorated with
the shadows of suspended glasssculptures, but they still
evoked that mark-making on thepaper. Can you please talk about
this work?
Shirley (16:45):
Of course, I remember those beautiful photos.
Steph (16:49):
Oh, yes, I took photos of it
Shirley (16:51):
of my work. That was great. The body of work was for
the first time I bought elementsfrom my traditional cultural
heritage, which is Chinese. Theseries of work was part of
(17:11):
FELTspace award program, where Ihad the chance to be mentored by
amazing glass artists UrsulaHalpin, and worked with the
supportive FELTspace team. Itwas an incredible experience and
also that connected to my nextopportunity: the Graduates in
(17:32):
residence in CanberraGlassworks. And also later on I
became part of the FELTspaceCommittee.
Steph (17:42):
What a great springboard. I think FELTspace is like that;
you sort of get in that circleand you just get absorbed - in a
good way.
Shirley (17:51):
Yeah, totally, totally. Um, so talking about the work,
it was, it was a process for meto restructure my knowing about
my traditional culture, and alsoto re-establish how I see my
upbringings, my culture and mysurroundings. And also, it was a
(18:16):
stage that I didn't focus onwhat the Chinese calligraphy
content was about. And one ofthe reasons why I this structure
of the of the calligraphy intoparts and strokes, because at
the time, I was trying to focuson the process of breathing on
(18:40):
both practice either Chinesecalligraphy and also
lampworking. It was a focus ofthe movement, the breath, the
lifting up the brush, anddropping down and holding the
breath and also relief thebreath along moving with my
brush.
Steph (19:00):
Wow. So it's almost like the breath work in mark making
or you know, whatever practiceit is, that is really cool. Did
you slow like, did you do thatthen slower to time with your
breath? Or did you just bemindful of it?
Shirley (19:17):
I was more of be mindful of my breath. And that
takes a lot of practice to do soand often I just get in and out
in and out. It's like practicingmeditation,
Steph (19:33):
oh like losing the focus and then bringing yourself back?
Shirley (19:35):
Yeah losing your focus and coming back to the focus
coming back to the breath again.And I think that also brings my
Chinese calligraphy practiceinto align[ment] between my how
my hand moves, how my mindmoves, how my body moves, at the
(19:56):
same time. And then lamp-workingtakes that practice to another
stage, which is slowing thewhole process of making one
stroke. So it will take me, Idon't know, 10 times more or
even longer, I don't know, tomake one stroke in glass, than
(20:20):
doing it in Chinese calligraphy.
Steph (20:22):
Wow. Yeah, that's just when you think like you'd
already slowed it down. You takeit to another level, it's like,
yeah, trying to make one strokeof a character, is it? Would you
call it a character?
Shirley (20:33):
A stroke
Steph (20:34):
Yeah. And then you're glass forming it.
Shirley (20:39):
So that slowness really helps me of thinking about the
shape of the stroke, and how itstarts, how it transformed, how
it go down and up again, andthen it ends sharply, or dully,
(21:00):
or rounding shapes. So theshapes was very much about the
process, the movement, thebreath itself. So then, at that
stage, I didn't want to bringany content. I remember at [the]
exhibition when I was sitting atthe gallery, there were quite a
(21:22):
few visitors specifically askedme about 'what's the content',
Steph (21:26):
Like what do what do they mean?
Shirley (21:27):
Yeah. And then I was, I wasn't prepared for the answer
at the time. But now when Ithink back, I really wasn't
actually trying to focus on thecontent at all. I want you to
see from either firstperspective or second
perspective, as in, its a shape.It's just like someone who cross
(21:51):
culture, doesn't understand thelanguage, but see it as a
beautiful mark making.
Unknown (21:56):
[gentle music]
Steph (22:11):
Now, seeing as we are catching up within the Nexus
building, I can only assume thatthere is a associated project or
outcome that we can expect tofollow. Can you please tell us
what you've got coming up?
Shirley (22:26):
Sure. I'm doing a three month studio residency at Nexus
at the moment. And that wouldcumulate to an exhibition at
Fringe Festival next month.
Steph (22:39):
Wonderful! That's so soon.
Shirley (22:43):
I know, it's only a month away. The opening is on
the 16th of February, I think.
Steph (22:49):
Wonderful. Yes, that is very soon, no pressure, no
pressure. And what kind of workor practice have you been doing?
Shirley (22:57):
In this project I'm doing a durational performance
that focus...
Steph (23:04):
Performance, that's new for you!
Shirley (23:04):
Yeah. It's a totally new area, for me a first time
experience outside of my comfortzone. Yeah. Never done
performance before. Not surelater on. But I'm very much
enjoying this process.
Steph (23:22):
And it even though it's a new, medium, I guess for you, it
still makes a lot of sense,given the goals of your
practice, and you know, whatyou're focusing on. So yes,
please, please tell me more,sorry I've interrupted.
Shirley (23:35):
So in this project, I focus on the embodied
experience, where I use my bodyas a tool for healing, through
mindfulness, throughconnections, through self
regulation. And that comingthrough my walkings, and also my
(23:59):
other meditative actions on thesite, more specifically at Nexus
courtyard on the disabilityramp.
Steph (24:08):
Oh ok yep the ramp that actually leads down into
[Nexus]. Yeah, because if anyonehasn't been to Nexus before, you
kind of got to go down to get toit. Yeah. Okay. So it's so
you're actually moving aroundthe site and drawing from that
experience?
Shirley (24:23):
Yeah. Actually, back to the question previously about
material in my work. I thinkthis time, my body is my
material.
Steph (24:32):
Wow.
Shirley (24:35):
Because my project is site-focused. I have been doing
walks, and a head-to-toe fullygrounded ritual at the Nexus
courtyard on the ramp, which ledme to be curious about the
history of the site.
Steph (24:51):
Yeah, so like, head to toe, like you're connecting,
you're lying sort of on theground.
Shirley (24:55):
I'm literally horizontal on the ground. On my
belly, on my face, on my thigh.Being present and fully touching
the ground.
Steph (25:09):
Yeah. And what did you say that led you to after that?
Shirley (25:13):
So it led me to be curious about what's behind this
site, like, what's the history?So I started digging the what
was before Nexus.
Steph (25:28):
Right? Yeah, what was here before Nexus.
Shirley (25:30):
yeah. Like what was it like in here like 100 years ago
or even longer. And what Ididn't expect was that I found
there was Joss House at thiscorner of Hindley Street and
Morphett Street, which isliterally where Nexus, Jam
(25:53):
Factory, and Mercury Cinema aretoday.
Steph (25:56):
And what's a joss house?
Shirley (25:58):
A joss house is, I think the term of joss house is
from Portuguese language. It's aChinese temple.
Steph (26:09):
Oh, wow.
Shirley (26:09):
Specifically, it was a Kuan Ti Temple, which is more of
a local Chinese belief.
Steph (26:18):
Yeah. Here! Amazing.
Shirley (26:21):
Yeah. And it was used by the local Chinese community
here who lives and works andobviously, you know, around this
area, and where Hindley Streettoday, it used to be a center of
Chinatown.
Steph (26:41):
Wow I had no idea.
Shirley (26:45):
I had no idea until I went to one day I went to the
architecture Museum at UniSA.And there was a staff there and
she has worked in UniSA for morethan 20 years.
Steph (27:00):
Oh, wow, what a wealth of knowledge.
Shirley (27:01):
That's the Yeah. She had the rich knowledge and
memory about an exhibition. Whohas acknowledged this history
Steph (27:11):
Oh, wow. Yeah.
Shirley (27:13):
But otherwise, I can't see any recognition and any road
signs, anything about thisvanished history?
Steph (27:22):
Yeah nothing to indicate what was there?
Shirley (27:25):
No. And that joss house was sitting there for almost, it
was 94 years.
Steph (27:32):
Wow
Shirley (27:32):
Yeah, almost 100 years unto 84. That was when it was
demolished.
Steph (27:38):
Wow. And so how then, like, knowing that, how is that
feeding back into this project?
Shirley (27:46):
I think like as the very important meaning of it, as
a new generation Chineseimmigrant artist as well. This
bonds me to the place, to thesite, to the land, even further.
Apart from the physical bond,which I've been doing, I
(28:12):
developed a sense of belonging.Also the emotional bond as well,
the cultural bond that more than100 years ago, there was a group
of people who were who were likeme,
Steph (28:26):
yeah, and they were here.
Shirley (28:28):
Yeah, here, travelled all this way. It was even
longer, harder traveling then,and try to survive here; try to
make a living, try to you know,develop their family here, their
life here. So this was afantastic discovery for me.
Steph (28:51):
Yeah gosh, I almost have chills. Oh, wow. And so what
kind of... like to picture theoutcome... like you'll have the
exhibition, will you be doingregular performance? Or will
there be remnants ofperformance? What will be in the
space?
Shirley (29:11):
The space will be focused on bringing that
performance practice into thegallery space. There it will be
shown as installation work.Where outlining more of a focus
(29:33):
on internal experience of theperformance that I have been
doing at the courtyard. So Ihave things like I have been
wearing white, specificallyusing my body as a canvas and
(29:54):
trying to pick up whatever it'son the ground with the
experience.
Steph (29:59):
Oh right, so I'm looking at it behind you, so that I can
see a white t shirts, some whitepants and gloves, some socks. So
that's the sort of debris ofwhat you've been, of those
performances and that wow, okay.
Shirley (30:13):
Yeah. So for me, that's my process, but also it's
documentation, as well as it's awork by itself.
Steph (30:23):
Yeah. Yeah.
Shirley (30:25):
That capsulated the time, the environment, my body
as well as in the skeleton. Andalso the land.
Steph (30:40):
Yeah. Wow. Very different to what you've done in the past.
It's so exciting. Oh good.
Shirley (30:47):
Yeah. As I said, this is totally new. it's totally out
of my comfort zone. Veryexciting. Very scary. But I
think this is a turning point.It's a great turning point for
me, that I have been using mybody -my hands more
specifically.
Steph (31:06):
Yeah, you always have been.
Shirley (31:07):
Yeah. But yeah, now I wanted to extend it to my whole
body. I want to, you know...this, this body with memory,
with trauma, with all thistracks, marks of time; How do I
release it? How do I open it up?How do I get embodied experience
(31:31):
and use this body to heal me.
Steph (31:36):
I don't think we can top that. We might have to end
there. Well, we're very, veryexcited to see so yeah, 16th of
February is when it opens. Oh,and you mentioned before that
there'll be some workshops? Sotell me about those just
quickly.
Shirley (31:55):
The workshop will be open to public, having people
over to join me to do theperformance experience what I
experienced. So that will be agroup workshop or group
performance. If you take that.The audience will be able to
(32:17):
pick up the whole experience.
Steph (32:20):
Wow, that's fantastic. And they'll just, there'll be
booking information, actually,we'll put it in the show notes.
Perfect. Oh, what anopportunity. Oh, well, on that
note, I think we've tickled ourbrains plenty. So maybe we'll
leave it at that. I think I'veworn you out. Thank you so much.
Shirley (32:38):
Thank you Steph.
Steph (32:39):
And yeah, put all that information in there and we'll
have to get to that exhibition.
(33:15):
[gentle music]
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