Nathan Nhan's work draws on the material history of ceramics, where vessel forms are imbued with stories as powerful narrative devices. This work is an autobiographical series based on Nhan's time as a student at the ANU School of Art and Design. The works are in the form of ceramic vessels that Nhan labels as 'trophies'. Labelled as such, they are objects of endurance, celebrating particular events that live in the past. They capture mostly fond memories, as a student from 2016 to 2022. Some reflect on relationships with spaces that no longer exist and live only in memory.
The ‘trophies’ are in two parts, plinth and vessel. Nhan employs various methods to construct each one, using hand building, wheel throwing, slip-casting and experimental techniques. They are decorated with commercial and altered glazes using a range of applications: dipping, brushing, and pouring, constantly layering and firing until finished.
Each year CMAG supports an Australian National University Arts student as part of the Emerging Artist Support Scheme Awards. The 2022 EASS Award recipient was Nathan Nhan, following his completion of a Bachelor of Visual Arts (Hons) majoring in Ceramics.
Opening Hours | Monday to Friday 10am–4pm | Saturday and Sunday 12pm – 4pm | Closed some public holidays
Entry to this exhibition is free | No bookings required
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Nathan Nhan is a ceramicist whose practice uses experimental making and the ceramic process as a tool to create, investigate and manifest identities within his work. Responding to the inherent materiality and cultural significance of ceramics, Nhan reflects upon concepts of place, community and identity from an Asian Australian perspective. He often employs traditional vessels as a foundation, transforming historical forms into contemporary vehicles that play with the medium’s enduring epic narrative of both Eastern and Western perspectives imbued with personal stories and social commentary.
Nathan Nhan | Trophy 1, 2023 | Image courtesy of the artist