Exclusive | A collision of history and reality: Road ahead of Shiwan ceramics in HK

In Hong Kong, there are many historical monuments and buildings topped with ceramic sculptures of different shapes, which are known as Shiwan ceramics.

Hong Kong's renowned ceramicist and sculptor Lo Sai-keung, in his other capacity, is the inheritor and promoter of Shiwan ceramics in Hong Kong.

Lo found his ultimate happiness in the world of ceramics and sculpture. He believes that most of the past Shiwan ceramics are about Gods and Buddhas, folklore, and at first glance, they will feel so old-fashioned - just like himself when he first saw those ceramics. As he studied more, he gradually realized that these were the "contemporary art" of those eras, because the ceramicists who created those works knew the world through watching movies and folk stories, and therefore used these characters as the subject matter for their creations.

In order to make Shiwan ceramics catch up with the times and become "contemporary art" now, Lo has studied the artworks from the early days of traditional beauty to the later days of combining modern social phenomena to create modern ceramic artworks with contemporary styles in the hope that more people will "fall in love" with Shiwan ceramics, an intangible cultural heritage, and see the Chinese beauty in the eyes of the traditional craftsmen.

"I hope to put some of the solid knowledge of the tradition into the idea of contemporary art, to superimpose and merge the good things." Lo has incorporated Hong Kong's social culture into his ceramics, and this approach has also been incorporated into the way he teaches his students.

As one of the instructors of the Jockey Club ICH+ Innovative Heritage Education Programme, Lo also encourages them to incorporate their thoughts and preferences, so that Shiwan ceramics can become active in the hands of Hong Kong's young generation.

"We are also looking for a change, to keep up with the development of the times to the contemporary, otherwise our ceramics would have been eliminated." Lo hopes that more people will pay attention to and fall in love with Shiwan ceramics and that the craft will be passed on so that the lifelike figurines and ceramics suitable for modern aesthetics will continue to shine, and go global to show the beauty of China's intangible cultural heritage.

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