A journey to China: after seeking political asylum in Australia in 1990, Ah Xian discovered, in an old medium, a new way to express his experience of the Chinese diaspora and the reconciliation of his past and present lives

Art in America, Feb, 2002 by Roni Feinstein

Rather than painting the new pieces himself, Ah Xian selected designs from pattern books and catalogues and commissioned Jingdezhen artisans who specialize in those motifs to execute them. While the craftspeople were allowed a certain degree of freedom in the painting, myriad decisions were made by the artist with regard to selection and execution. At once opulent and refined, the Jingdezhen busts feature a wide range of images and techniques; in comparison, the Sydney works appear hesitant and crude. In addition to the cobalt blue and copper red seen in the earlier works, for example, one now finds a full spectrum of color, often with embossed or low-relief designs. High relief is also seen, as in the few busts bearing the traditional "antique objects" (a vase, lantern, musical instrument and other auspicious forms), as well as in one of the three sculptures featuring a pair of legs and feet, from the knees down, modeled on the artist's own.

According to convention, the base of each piece is impressed with a red seal. Some of the seals incorporate the artist's name while others describe a mood or type of imagery, such as "clouds and rain," "wind and moon" or "dancing dragons and phoenix." A seal reading "free and untroubled immortal" does both tasks; it refers to a placid figure rendered permanent in porcelain as well as to the artist and his state of mind (while "Ah" is a prefix for a Chinese nickname and has no meaning, "Xian" in Chinese signifies "immortal").

It was in Jingdezhen that the porcelains described in the opening paragraphs of this article were created. A particularly striking work (although not as technically elaborate as some) is the iron red China, China--bust 11 (1999). When I met with Ah Xian at his home in Sydney, he showed me the source for the lion design in this work: a color photograph of a large round platter of the Qing Dynasty, the sole motif he selected from a book showing hundreds of bowls and platters. From a distance, the blood-red color of the lions and of the silk-strip balls and ribbons that cover the woman's form suggest body organs, blood vessels and the like, as though she had been turned inside-out. On closer viewing, the symmetrical decorations transform her into the beast--a lion, a traditional Chinese symbol of fierceness and protection from evil.

On multiple occasions both at Sydney College of the Arts and in Jingdezhen, the artist attempted to create near-complete nudes (figures generally terminating at mid-thigh), but each time the forms proved to be too fragile and broke, most often when being fired in the kiln. In light of his interest in depicting the female nude, it is notable that none of Ah Xian's portrait busts of women display even a hint of breasts or sexuality. A few, however, are painted with traditional Chinese erotica.

The artist hopes to realize the full figures by working with artisans of lacquer and cloisonne. Both are expensive and hugely time-consuming processes. Each piece of lacquerware, for example, requires 16 layers of lacquer per millimeter of thickness and 6 or 7 millimeters are needed, depending upon the depth of the carved relief; each piece takes about six months to complete. At this writing, none of the new works has been shown.