7 Years with You.

7 Years with You., 2022. Glaze on stoneware ceramic, flower arrangements. 10 x 8 x 5 in. (Image by Allen Yi Lin Chen)

“Every 7 years, the cells in your entire body will be destroyed and replaced with new cells, and you will become a new person.” 

While this is not scientifically true, the number 7 years has remained special to me since I’ve heard this saying. Looking back at who I was seven years ago and now, even though my body has not transformed into a new “me”, something within me has indeed changed and grown. 

The series 7 Years with You. embodies the strength of life. It’s a documentation of accompanying myself on this journey and what I have learned. It’s about the struggle and shame of a plant growing in a twisted and narrow crevice, and finally finding its way to the light. Through the building of clay, I would like to present the abstract idea of growth and resilience in the form of nature elements such as coral and insects. 

The series consists of three ceramic vases– Air, Water and A Hug. Combined with the use of a warm white, textured glaze and fresh flowers, I hope that viewing this work will heal your sadness and exhaustion, and that you will feel the little moments of empowerment that surround us from day to day.

Air, 2022. Glaze on stoneware ceramic.

Water, 2022. Glaze on stoneware ceramic.

A Hug, 2022. Glaze on stoneware ceramic.

The Show 2022 Exhibition

Exhibition View (Click to see full sized image)

*For the on campus exhibition, due to the limitation of fresh plants, dried flowers are used instead.

7 Years with You., 2022. Glaze on stoneware ceramic, dried flower arrangements. 10 x 8 x 5 in. (Images by Allen Yi Lin Chen)