About
Zhu Ohmu
Zhu Ohmu is a Taiwanese-Australian practitioner living in Melbourne, Australia, whose connection to culture informs both her artistic and personal development. Born in Taiwan, Zhu graduated from Elam school of Fine Arts in Auckland, New Zealand and is currently based in Melbourne. Her work investigates the resurgence of the handmade and the ethics of slowness in an age of mass production and automation, whilst simultaneously exploring the conversation between nature, the artist’s hand and new technologies.
Working primarily with ceramics, the artist's coiling technique imitates the machine methods of 3D printing. Built through stacking, folding, and pressing, the vessel’s form and dimensions are dictated by the weight of moist clay with the form emerging intuitively, pushed to its structural limits. By spending time with clay through play and observation, insight into its plasticity and workability leads the artist’s manipulation of the material. The artist’s hands have the ability to build forms that present-day 3D printers cannot, due to the human capabilities for patience, care, and curiosity at the centre of forming an intimate relationship with clay.