The 4th Jakarta Contemporary Ceramics Biennale (JCCB) enlivened the capital city with an art exhibition carrying the theme “Ways of Clay: Perspectives Toward the Future”. As one of the biggest contemporary ceramics biennales in Southeast Asia, JCCB departed 42 artists from 23 countries to work closely with the time concept through specific media: clay and ceramics.

Every artwork using clay and ceramic must be an interpretation of the conviction, experience and experiment from its craftsmen. The artists usually convey a certain message, from social issues, politics to history, to describe their creative works. As a result, there are various ways to produce a masterpiece, even those uncommon ones. The concept of time is somehow represented in each work since it involves a period of time that encompasses a beginning and an end.

“Ways of Clay: Perspectives Toward the Future” sees what the future holds for clay and ceramic arts: the artists not only follow the market demands but liberally express their thoughts, feelings and experiences through their clay and ceramic artworks. As seen at the exhibition, guests were spoiled by intricate collections displaying surrealism, collaboration of visual and inanimate objects, expressionism (through drawing on clay and ceramics), subconsciousness and more. These selected collections concurrently highlighted the theme that JCCB tended to emphasize, which is the important role of history in the future of clay and ceramic arts. “Ways of Clay” is based on the observation that clay is used to be a material for creating functional objects in the ancient period, which still grasps the attention of artists from all over the world to procreate contemporary artworks.