Jennifer Tee, Abstraction of a Form, Shape or Presence, 2022*

Especially for the Stedelijk Museum Schiedam, Jennifer Tee (1973) created Abstraction of a Form, Shape or Presence, a work that reflects on a recurring theme in the artist’s work: the soul in limbo. This metaphor describes a non-specific and conceptual psychological and physical space between reality and the impossible.

The installation consists of a series of ceramic domes from Tee’s Tao Magic series, taking its name from a form of Chinese magic. These sculptures reference moons and planets, while other objects symbolise the universe, duality, reciprocity and unity, such as the imprint of a face, like a death mask in negative. The artist establishes a relationship between the material and the immaterial world, merging two to explore memories, our attempts to capture moments in time, and the abstraction of death. These objects are made with precision following the artist’s interest in ceramics, are beautifully glazed in soft tones, and some even include crystals.

Jennifer Tee combines cultural influences from all over the world to create work across sculpture, collage, installation and performance, combining craft experiments with philosophical reflections.

Jennifer Tee (1973)
Abstraction of a Form, Shape or Presence, 2022
Ceramics

Image: Jennifer Tee, Abstraction of a Form, Shape or Presence, 2022. Photograph: Gerrit Schreurs