Out of China: Monumental Porcelain

Working collaboratively with teams of local craftsmen in a Chinese manufactory in Jingdezhen, Aylieff has explored how technologies can be adapted to produce appropriate, original and unique contemporary sculptural expressions. Her research has resulted in artworks using an extreme scale not typically associated with porcelain. During a series of residencies in Jingdezhen, Aylieff investigated local traditional ‘blue and white’ ceramic techniques, including glaze application, decorative brushwork and firing methods. This body of research was primarily presented through four exhibitions, two with associated texts. ‘Out of China: Monumental Porcelain’ was an Arts Council-funded solo exhibition of work by Aylieff. During 2008–9, the exhibition toured to three venues: Barn Gallery, West Dean; Gallery Oldham, Manchester; and Lightbox Gallery, Woking. An associated book was published with text by Aylieff and an essay by Professor Emmanuel Cooper. ‘Contemporary Craft Comes to No.10’ was a joint exhibition of work shown at No.10 Downing Street in 2011. Aylieff was one of eight leading makers whose work was selected to be shown. Porcelain City Jingdezhen, a joint exhibition by Felicity Aylieff, Roger Law, Ah Xian, and Takeshi Yasuda was shown at the V&A Museum (2011-12). The exhibition focused on the rich language and history of Chinese porcelain and present-day life in Jingdezhen through contemporary ceramic production. The publication Porcelain City Jingdezhen, which accompanied the exhibition, included an essay by Aylieff: ‘Scooters, Buddhas and water lilies’. ‘China’s White Gold’, an exhibition held at the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge (2012-13), featured eight of Aylieff’s pieces, including four monumental works. Pieces from the exhibitions were acquired by public institutions and for major international collections including the V&A; Shipley Art Gallery; York Museum, and Chatsworth House. During her residency at Jingdezhen, Aylieff was interviewed for the BBC4 television documentary Treasures of Chinese Porcelain (2011)

Working to Scale

‘Working to Scale’ explored how techniques traditional to Chinese ceramic manufacture could inform contemporary work. Aylieff focused on the decorative technique of Famille Rose enamel painting: Fencai. Aylieff’s research into Fencai included studying historical sources and object collections to understand the origins and development of this decorative technique, and the structure of imagery and patterns associated with its use. She also undertook practical investigations into the traditional means of applying and firing the enamels. This research underpinned the contemporary pieces Aylieff produced, which referenced traditional forms and surface patterns of Fencai techniques in their surface decoration. The use of Fencai had traditionally been restricted to modestly sized vessels. Owing to its firing requirements, it was not previously thought possible to deploy it on a larger scale. Aylieff chose to innovate in this direction, a decision that entailed her having to master the demands of large-scale porcelain production. She also developed ways of applying extensive areas of enamel and complex firing cycles to accommodate the scale of the works and the multiple firings Fencai requires. Aylieff undertook the research, practical testing and manufacturing of the vessels in ceramic workshops in Jingdezhen, China. The resulting pieces were technically innovative and also created a new relationship with the viewer owing to their overall monumental quality and the extent of the ‘ceramic canvas’ each work displayed. The research culminated in a solo exhibition of six monumental and six small vessels at Contemporary Applied Arts (CAA), London, between October and November 2009. A catalogue of Aylieff’s oeuvre was published to coincide with the CAA exhibition, funded by the Arts Council and with an essay by Ann Elliott. As a further development, two new works using this process of Fencai were acquired by the Cheltenham Museum (supported by the Art Fund, 2013)

Knowledge is power? : the role of experiential knowledge in genetically 'risky' reproductive decisions

Knowledge of the condition being tested for is increasingly acknowledged as an important factor in prenatal testing and screening decisions. An analysis of the way in which family members living with an inheritable condition use and value this knowledge has much to add to debates around whether and how this type of knowledge could be made available to prospective parents facing screening decisions. This paper reports on in-depth interviews with sixty-one people (conducted 2007-9), with a genetic condition in their family, Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA). Many participants described their intimate familial knowledge of SMA as offering them valuable insights with which they could imagine future lives. Other participants, however, found themselves trapped between their experiential knowledge of SMA and their (often) competing responsibility to maintain the wellbeing of their family. Still others established a ‘hierarchy’ of knowledge to rank the authenticity of different family member’s accounts of SMA in order to discredit, or justify, their decisions. This paper highlights the way in which experiential knowledge of the condition being tested for cannot be unproblematically assumed to be a useful resource in the context of prenatal testing and screening decisions, and may actually constrain reproductive decisions