OBJECT ATTACHMENT
Lilian Wu Finckel
Chinatown Soup is delighted to present Object Attachment, an exhibition of clay objects, photography, and mixed media works by artist-in-residence Lilian Wu Finckel that is on view from June 9 through June 19, 2021.
Notes on Object Attachment:
Objects are important when they are:
gifted / given
found in a moment of importance
inherited
are beautiful / spark joy / etc.
inherently archival
Object attachment: (within psychology) linked to transitional periods of life or growth (a.k.a. growing up). Can aid independence. Extremes include hoarding, but the spectrum also applies to normative aging transitions, life experiences, familiarity, or habit, all which impact the views of objects.
The Venus of Dolní Věstonice is the oldest known ceramic object, dated 29,000-25,000 BCE (Paleolithic), discovered on July 13, 1925, in ash, broken in two pieces. It is made of yellow clay mixed with powdered mammoth bone and fired at around 1300º Fahrenheit. The fingerprint of a child, between 7-15 years old, remains in the clay.
February 16, 2019
I ask my mother what my grandparents’ names are, and write a note so I won’t forget:
陳瑜玉
Chén Yúyù
吳廣澤
Wú Guangzé
I also write down my name, just in case:
吳立蓮
and 蓮花 to better understand
Lineage I can’t read. Will I remember how to spell my own name in her tongue? Giving myself her name too, but when I say it and stumble and he asks me to repeat
is that more difficult?
Both my grandmothers were painters: Helen Klee Finckel and 陳瑜玉 [Chén Yúyù]
Notes App, phone (2018ish)
objects i will —
lost non-things
things for tearing
pins and pinning and soft receptacles
box of goods
goods in box
goods for sailing
goods for sale things
goods for selling
good for nothing
good for
good form
forms of good
forms of bad
bad form
bad foam
bad things
things that go bad
boxes of
stuff.
About the artist: Lilian Wu Finckel is a ceramic artist and teacher based in Brooklyn. She has exhibited with Chinatown Soup and Slowburn NYC. Lilian is a co-curator of the Chinatown Soup Zine Wall and co-organizer for the NYC Feminist Zinefest. She teaches people of all ages how to make pottery at Clayhouse Brooklyn (where she also fires kilns and mixes glazes).
A message from the artist: I have endless gratitude to the many friends who helped me put this show together: Michelle and Tim for their constant soupport; Amelie for the most stunning florals; Lizzie and Jillian for helping all my clay works emerge on time and in one piece; Ama for her photo/printing/Epson skills; Jongil for taking such good care of my wàipó’s paintings; Tony and the Accurate Photoshop family for the fastest and best photo development; Miguel and Tony for lending us pedestals; Suze for the most delicious opening cake; and Zoe, Pooja, Anna, and Lizzy for their encouragement, installation help, and wisdom.
