Two months ago, Chinese ceramic artist Xu Hongbo arrived in Vevey School CEPV for an art exchange program. As he adjusted to life in Switzerland, he noticed the beggars on the streets and how the community interacted with them--a sense of courtesy and dignity even when money wasn't given. As a representative of China and Chinese porcelain, Xu Hongbo wanted to give something back to the Swiss community; he landed on the idea of creating ceramic bowls from Chinese clay for the beggars to use.
Hailing from Jingdezhen, the porcelain capital of China, Xu Hongbo decided to create the bowls from clay indigenous to his hometown. The bowls are designed with a cross-shaped opening, and Xu Hongbo's hope is that the bowls will bring both beauty and utility to the beggars' lives.
Artist's statement:
I named the bowls “SBC”, an acronym for Swiss Bowls with a Cross and Swiss Beggars’ Ceramics. In the Bible, you can read that God changes humankind like a potter transforms the pots on the wheel by his hands. Maybe the first or the last wish of beggars is just wanting a little bit of “change” in life.
The first ten bowls in this series will be exhibited at the gallery L'Artelier Cé
Xu Hongbo received his bachelor's degree from Jingdezhen Ceramics Institute and his master's degree from the Fine Arts College at Shanghai University. His works often express his concern with social issues and human relationships.
Xu Hongbo's website (mostly in Chinese): http://www.hongboclay.cdd.cn/home.asp?m_id=80012
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