Ceramic Art at Gardiner Museum

The Gardiner Museum, Toronto’s renowned ceramics museum, launched a new showcase featuring ceramics and other multimedia artworks by local artists and a must-visit exhibition in the summer of 2023. The exhibition, Marking Making: Narrating Our Histories, features Serene as one of the emerging local artists from VIBE Arts’ Emerging Artists program. Her pieces on display were all created during a series of special ceramic workshops, marking the first time she used clay as a medium.

In her clay collection, she explores the complex journey of self-colonization—a process through which she finds herself gradually assimilating into white culture while unintentionally losing touch with her cherished Chinese heritage. She aims to visually narrate the conflict and emotional struggle within her as her cultural identity slowly dissolves. As a person with a Chinese background navigating a predominantly white cultural environment, she has felt the pressures to conform and adapt to the norms and expectations of the majority. The vibrant Chinese designs on the traditional symbols symbolize my proud roots, rich with history, traditions, and wisdom that she holds dear. However, as these symbols slowly melt into puddles, it represents the erosion of her connection to her heritage as she immerses herself in a culture that, at times, seems to overshadow her own. She wants to spark conversations about the importance of preserving cultural heritage and the significance of acknowledging the impact of societal pressures on shaping individual identities.

Read more about it here: Blog TO | Mark Making | Narrating our Histories