Crystal Clear
Two icons come together to create 'dream' sculptures
It’s the year 1985. Han Meilin, an artist who has already made a name in China, as well as around the world through painting, calligraphy, ceramics, and sculpture, produces his second postal stamp design and it stars a bear native to south central China, the panda.
Fast forward to 2019 and the UNESCO Artist of Peace is still at it, taking the muchloved animal once again as inspiration for yet another creative collaboration. This time, it’s with French glassmaker of homeware, jewelry, and sculptures, Lalique.
Aptly called “The Panda Collection,” the ensemble is one of the two launches this year from the French brand. It features 10 panda crystal sculptures with a frosted glass finish, in both large and small sizes.
Two are present during the collection’s Philippine launch and selling event at Rustan’s Makati—YuanYuan, a seated male, and Meng-Meng, a female panda on its back.
It’s a collection Daniel Ong, Lalique’s regional director for Southeast Asia & Oceania, finds exciting. “Why do I say [so]? That’s because it’s the first time that the French brand is collaborating with a Chinese artist,” he tells Manila Bulletin Lifestyle. “It’s also Han’s first time working with crystal as a medium for sculpture.” Crystal, compared to glass, is softer and therefore requires more skill and caution from anyone who uses it to create sculptures. Han is able to work with the said material thanks to his 60 years of creative experience. Ong says it’s ideal to collect it by pair, not so much because it sells out fast due to limited quantity—worldwide, large sculptures are limited to 55 pieces, while those in small sizes only have a total of 888—but because of the work’s message.
“The word yuan means complete or accomplished, while meng means dream,” Ong says. “Together, it means accomplishing a dream. While it’s okay to have just one, it makes more sense to collect it by pair.”
On why choose the panda, the Lalique representative says it’s because of the brand and the artist’s fondness for nature.
Lalique, founded by French glassmaker Rene Lalique in 1888, is known to create works based on what Ong calls the 3 Fs: flora, fauna, and femininity.
Much of the Han’s body of work, meanwhile, consists of nature-inspired creations, including a pig postal stamp for China in 1983, the phoenix logo for Air China, the five-dragon clock tower for the 1996 Atlanta Summer Olympics, and more recently, the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics official mascot, Fuwa, which are all inspired by lotus, antelope, panda, among others.
Speaking on behalf of Han, Ong says the artist’s choice to highlight panda in the collection is likely because of what it stands for symbolically.
“The fact that he chose panda for the sculpture, I must say it’s all about harmony, all about relations, or friendship. You, me, and anyone can have that symbol at home. You need not go to the gallery or museum to appreciate art,” he says. “You can be at home and have a reminder of these two important things every time you look at them.”
This collaboration celebrates the 55th year anniversary of Franco-Chinese relations. Lalique hopes to create the same cultural and symbolic bond in other parts of Asia, including the Philippines through a Filipino artist.
“Hopefully, in each country in Asia, we can work with artists,” Ong says. “This is so that we can have the complete collection representing each country’s culture in this part of the world.”
‛You, me, and anyone can have that symbol at home. You need not go to the gallery or museum to appreciate art. You can be at home and have a reminder of these two important things every time you look at them.’