A Brisbane artist has taken home the major prize at the North Queensland Ceramic Awards for her work representing motherhood
Ruby Yu-Lu Yeh’s ceramic piece ‘Of Motherhood’ has taken home the major prize at the North Queensland Ceramic Awards, but the meaning behind the art is more than meets the eye.
Townsville
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Ceramic artist Ruby Yuh-Lu Yeh has claimed the $10,000 acquisitive City of Townsville Art Collection Award for her piece ‘Of Motherhood’.
The work is being displayed as part of the North Queensland Ceramic Awards, running until February 16.
The Brisbane local created the piece as an exploration of the type of love she received from her own mother.
“It’s difficult for my mum’s generation to express their feelings. I grew up rarely received words of affirmation,” she said.
“As opposed to Western culture, where they usually express their love in actions, my mum often thinks of my favourite food and delivers it to my door.”
The pot is shaped to reflect a post-partum body, and is covered in words of affirmation and hope, as well as confusion and fear.
Ms Yeh said the work demonstrates the contradictory feelings she often experiences inside about being a woman.
“Disheartened by human nature and the hardship of generations before me but also encouraged by human nature and the resilience and strength not just for people who became mothers, but for women in general,” she said.
“I had messages from people who said that it was cathartic to write some feelings they had bottled up about being a mother, about the things they couldn’t say to their mother, and both the good and bad emotions we go through as women.”
Ms Yeh said she was “very touched” to see visitors become “emotional and cry” after embracing the work, and she never imagined her work would lead to her winning the award.
“I was so amazed at the power of this inanimate object that holds so many people’s stories and emotions and which helped me process my own complicated feelings.”
The piece will be on display at the Perc Tucker Regional Gallery until February 16.
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Originally published as A Brisbane artist has taken home the major prize at the North Queensland Ceramic Awards for her work representing motherhood
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