A world of his own
Sculptor Chao Harn kae's portfolio is full of whimsical figures and fantastical creatures.
HIS works are exactly the kind that children would imagine coming to life when the grown- ups are asleep, and the night quiet and dark. All impish grins and bright eyes, mischievous faces peer out from beneath floppy ears, even as centaurs stomp their feet and fauns burst into tears. Tucked away in a corner, a horned creature’s downcast eyes and trembling lip belies its majesty. And half a room away, a meshed figure stumbles around with a dark void for its face.
Chao Harn Kae has created a menagerie of fantastical creatures out of clay, now on display at the Oriental
Art and Cultural Association in Kuala Lumpur. With each sculpture seemingly more intriguing than the one before it, they draw you in with a wink, a slight tilt of the head, a sideway glance... and before you know it, you are fully immersed in a world where animals talk, or look like they could.
“I like working with clay, it is warm and friendly. I really feel at home with it. When you spend a lot of time with it and get to know it well enough, it will talk to you,” says Chao.
Whatever figurative conversations he is having with his works, it is obvious that this connection between artist and sculpture is an intense and earnest one. Beneath his hands, the clay he moulds takes on a life on its
own. Before you notice who or what they are in their final form, the expressions and the burden they carry on their shoulders, or lack thereof, call out to you.
But Chao’s relationship with clay is hardly happenstance – or is it?
Many years ago, when his father moved the family from the city to sleepy Kaki Bukit in Perlis to take up pig farming in the early 1980s, eightyear- old Chao, the eldest of three children, developed a fascination with observing animals and their behaviour. With dogs, pigs and rabbits as his trusted everyday companions, he amused himself with evaluating an animal’s temperament and mood through the ways their ears moved.
“Even the tiniest twitch might signify a major mood change. You can read their emotions through their ears, much in the same way humans look at other people’s faces to see what they feel,” he shares.
Now 41, Chao has immortalised these expressive nuances in his clay works, of which he has been working on for the past three years.
In his sculptures, many pairs of pointy ears are angled in an approximation of happiness, dissatisfaction, wistfulness ... perhaps, even inquisitiveness? In some works, a pair of hands protrudes from the head in mirthful, almost child- like proportions, even as the face gazes on with bored indifference. In others, innocence radiates in spades.
The Conquering: Chapter Clay is Chao’s first solo show in Kuala Lumpur. It comprises some 80 selected works completed over the last three years, mostly made of clay, but with some bronze sculptures, porcelain pieces, and drawings included as well.
Chao, who has been based in Hong Kong for the past 12 years, shares that the initial idea was to team up with fellow artist and wood sculptor Khoo Boon Want, who was his senior in college, for an exhibition in Malaysia. However, Chapter Wood is now tentatively slated for next year instead.
“I want to show that there is so much more to ceramics than just the pots and cups that many people associate it with. To me, my works are quite spiritual and I hope they touch people’s hearts,” says Chao, who was one of the finalists of last year’s New Art Wave International Artist Award in Macau. In August, he will be exhibiting his works at the New Art Wave Expo in Hong Kong.
Chao graduated from the Malaysian Institute of Art with a major in Fine Art in 1997. Since then, he has had the occasional stint with clay, but mainly focused on other projects, in particular directing and creating works for theme parks around the world ( Australia, Dubai, Hong Kong, Singapore and Shanghai), and being involved in community art, creating public sculptures and working with students in Hong Kong.
During this time, his ceramics inevitably took a backseat, but his passion for the craft was reignited in 2012 after he joined a hobby club and embarked on a threemonth ceramics course.
“I have not really touched clay since I started working in theme parks. But one day I found myself thinking about working with clay again and I yearned to rediscover the feeling that comes with it,” he says.
One kiln purchase later, and armed with a newfound determination to explore the possibilities of this medium, Chao was back to creating clay works by hand and now envisions himself spending more time with this material for a long time to come.
“In the next few months, I plan to focus on exploring totem- like sculptures,” he shares.
Mother And Son, in its most literal sense, is two heads piled on top of each other. It is the only one of its kind at The Conquering exhibition. It signifies the start of his journey with clay totems in the weeks and months to come.
Chao’s clay works are hardly the epitome of perfection in the conventional sense. There are marks left behind in the hardened clay – little imperfections, a fleck here and a crack there, and even fingerprints left behind by the maker. Unapologetically charming in their handmade quaintness, the finished works are mostly presented with a textured surface where flowing lines and swirls add a jaunty liveliness.
For texture- making, a scrapper and mesh are all the tools Chao needs. For everything else, his hands are both the back- breaking labourer and the star of the day.
“There is just something so special about working with clay. With wood for instance, you are always removing stuff from your work to shape its final form. With clay, you can both add and subtract, and it is really versatile. I really like these qualities about it,” he comments.
In The Conquering, Chao’s sculptures merge human and animal forms, which he considers as a reflection of sorts on the world we live in and its inhabitants. It is hard to decide whether his whimsical creatures are wearing masks or are simply suited up in a costume. Is it an animal pretending to be human, or a person dressed as an animal? This duality can be confusing, if not appreciably endearing.
“I have met many people who behave like they are animals, but I also often see animals behaving like humans. So it is quite difficult sometimes to determine who is who, or who you really are,” says Chao, pondering on the many masks people wear that hides the “real” person beneath the facade.
He hopes that his attempts to capture this duality in his works will make people stop and think about what is real or simply an illusion in our world and perceived reality.
“Everyone is born with an intuitive sense, but we are so caught up with rushing about in the modern world that we lose this sense. There are many things we will be able to see and feel if only we would take a step back from the madness and learn how to relax and tune in,” he says.
Sharing that he works with “simple concepts” and does not really believe in pushing big messages with his works, he sees them as an extension of what he sees and feels, And nothing makes him happier than finding kindred souls to share this part of himself: “I just hope that people who see my works will be touched in some way. When that happens, it makes me very happy. It means the world to me”.
The Conquering: Chapter Clay is on at the Oriental Art & Cultural Association, Lorong 1/ 137C, Jalan Klang Lama in Kuala Lumpur till July 31. Opening hours: 11am- 7pm ( closed on Monday). Call 03- 7785 6363 for more information.