Moon Jar; An Axis: Korean Cultural Centre AU

Gallery LNL is delighted to present, Moon Jar; An Axis, a group exhibition in presented in collaboration with the Korean Culutral Centre AU. 

This exhibition explores Korean and Australian artists' engagement with the Moon Jar together with those forms it brings forth, like the moon. The Moon Jar is widely regarded as an emblem of Korean aesthetic sensibilities, yet it is also the site of a continual reimagining across media by Korea's contemporary artists. Axis establishes a cross-cultural discourse between Korean and Australian artists, examining at once the continuity of traditional practice, as well as the transformation which results from resituating the Moon Jar within a cultural context far removed from its historical beginnings.

The Moon Jar

The simple appearance of the Moon Jar, as a large, undecorated white porcelain vessel, belies the rigorous technical process of its making. Two bowl-shaped halves are thrown separately and joined at the rims, leaving a distinct crease around the middle. During firing, variables such as the vessel's placement in the kiln and the direction of heat produce slight distortions: gentle asymmetries, soft humps and uneven curves which give each jar its distinct, organic character. After initial bisque firing, the vessel is coated with a transparent or milky-white glaze and refired, with no added decorations.

Origins

Originating from the Joseon dynasty, the Moon Jar is a fascinating anomaly in East Asian art, for being a form entirely unique to the Korean peninsula. Archaeological findings show that production began in the official royal kilns (bunwon) of Gwangju from the early 1600s, growing in popularity through the early 1700s. For less than two centuries, it was categorised under the broader term baekja daeho (백자대호, "large porcelain jar"), and produced for both ceremonial and functional purposes, such as for the storage of grain and oil. By the late 18th century, however, production had ceased for reasons that remain unknown, and remained comparatively obscure until the mid-twentieth century.

Contemporary Currents

The Moon Jar is today widely regarded as an emblem of Korean aesthetic sensibilities par excellence, continuing to be extensively reimagined across media by Korean artists. In recent years, the Moon Jar has drawn sustained international attention; in Australia, for instance, a notable number of artists across mediums have engaged the form as a recurring motif within their respective practices. This exhibition showcases works by Australian artists responding to a challenge as open as it is exacting: to find their own way to the moon jar. Rather than being asked to replicate or defer, these artists were invited to bring their own practices into orbit with a form which, for many of them, is newly encountered. The exhibition also gathers works which resonate less with the overt form of the moon jar, so much as that form's own hidden inspirations; from responses to the moon itself, to roundness, to the relationship between vessel and void. What results is less an academic survey of influences, and more of a dynamic record, a live encounter in-between two distinct cultures.