It is the work itself of Japanese ceramist Hayashi Shigek that employs technology. On the surface, the work is inspired by science fiction and manga, and the look is that of mass produced manufactured goods. Looking deeper the work reveals strong associations with traditional Japanese ceramics and culture.
Shigek is from Tajimi City, a region well know for its porcelain production. And it is in porcelain that this work is created. The process is precise and time consuming. In an interview published in Ceramics Now, He describes his process. http://www.ceramicsnow.org/post/10934712126/interview-with-hayashi-shigeki-japanese-ceramic-artist
“I make the prototypes with regular clay and make plaster casts for them. Then I pour the plaster, modify those plaster masters very carefully and create second plaster casts. Then I pour the slip into them and throw the remaining slip away. After taking the pieces out from the cast, I work on some final details and then put them into the kiln for the biscuit firing. I sand the biscuit surfaces and then second fire them at 2246 degrees (F). Additional decorations with gold or silver are added and then fired again at 1472(F). All the parts are assembled with epoxide-based adhesive and bolts. The latest work consists in forty parts. I am using thirty four different kinds of casts which are from two to seven split molds. Since I don’t have any assistancy, all the processes are done by myself. For my latest work, it took me nine months to make the casting process and one month for the firing and assembling process.”
Website
http://www.geocities.jp/sheceramic/indextop.html
http://www1.ocn.ne.jp/~sheceram/
Blog
http://www.geocities.jp/sheceramic/diarymenu.html
While the writing here is in Japanese, there are great photos of the works as they move through the process. In the end, Shigek does not consider the work ceramic, the narrative becomes much larger than the medium of its production, yet the intense focus on craft gives these works a validity that the same objects produced in plastic would not have. This fusion of deeply traditional making techniques to make these manufactured looking babies, which one curator connects to a Japanese story from around 900 ce about a baby from the moon found in a bamboo tree, layers these objects with profound meaning, though what that is exactly, the artist would prefer the viewer decide.
