Natural lacquer is traditionally associated with smooth, polished surfaces. The resin is made from the sap of the Rhuss verniciflua tree, native to East Asia. It’s results in art are tough and glass-like. Artist Miao Tan takes this ancient practice in a new direction, challenging the conventional perceptions of lacquer as a smooth, finished product. In her hands, the material accumulates, stretches and transforms, no longer functioning merely as a coating by actively contributing to the formation of structure. Here, she repositions lacquer as a medium capable of shaping structure, tactility and modes of use.
In Tactile Extensions, Tan combines natural lacquer with horsehair. The intricate pieces are wrapped, bound and suspended in mid-air, with some parts tightly wrapped and others left loose. The almost unfinished visual of the piece reflects Tan’s creative approach, in which making is a continuous process. She explains: “form is not predetermined by emerges gradually through direct interaction between body and material, negotiating through action, failure and repeated adjustment.” The series is part of a wider desire to create work that is “designed to be used, handled and experienced through touch.” The artist is the Co-Founder of qīqíqǐqì, a studio that works with natural lacquer to shape the way we meet, use and respond to objects. It’s a fascinating and unique way to take artistic practice from the gallery wall and into people’s lives.
Tan continues to play with textures in her sculptures. Upright, Light, Light II and Rest all use natural lacquer, cotton fabric, diatomaceous earth, coffee grounds and silver powder to create rigid, uneven surfaces that bend and shift. Several of her series, including They, Them, Their uses the ancient technique of material lacquer to challenge the concept of gender as a fixed biological binary, presenting it instead as a fluid, socially constructed idea. In taking the pliable fabric of cotton and rendering it rigid and unforgiving, the sculptures serve as a powerful metaphor for gender expectations in the modern world.
The artist extends her practice into mixed-media paintings, switching forms from sculpture but maintaining many of the same concerns. Layers of material are built up, altered and reworked over time, creating surfaces that record a sequence of actions. In an interview with Cold Magazine, the artist explained how “in my sophomore year, everything changed in a mixed-media class. I discovered that art could be so free and expressive. I started making collages with found objects, scraps of fabric and even jewellery, sticking them onto walls. I felt confident and light-hearted realising that painting wasn’t just about carefully detailing a flat surface – it could also be spontaneous, energetic and liberating.”
Across sculpture and painting, Tan’s practice is distinguished by its close attention to materials and making. The artist pushes lacquer, horsehair, fabric and paint beyond their traditional usage, turning them into powerful commentaries of creation and societal expectations.
Words: Emma Jacob
Image Credits:
All images courtesy of Miao Tan.
