When confronted by Binghui Song’s sculptures it’s as if they’ve been frozen in movement, you wonder if they’ll start moving the second we look away. Is it a creature from the sea floor, something from an alien world or a striking natural formation carved over millions of years from wind abrasion or cliff-side erosion?
The vibrant red ‘Psychedelic Blaze’ reminds me of sea anemones, but as it sprawls across the floor is it enticing in its beauty or something that could be deadly to the touch? The all-white ‘Psychedelic Obscure’ is similarly textured but feels more passive, as if it’s got less life than its scarlet companion.
Working with ceramics, metal and glass Song can create works that resemble crystalline snowflakes, rock formations and everything in between. The works can appear shimmering and light-absorbing, solid and fragile, human-made and organic. Song draws inspiration from the natural world, and she says of her work “they are not my creations but the life of nature.”
Floral motifs exist within her work and much like still-life painters throughout art history, she has created permanent sculptures based on the fleeting blossoms we see outside in nature. They both replicate the natural world and act as reminders of the fragility and impermanence of life – in line with the concept of the memento mori that we’ve seen throughout art history.
Having studied jewellery, accessories, and metalwork in Toyko has given Song the foundations to build upon in her recent degree from the Royal College of Art so that her skills can pivot towards fine art. Her material skills have allowed her to create these otherwordly forms with great precision and intricacy while manifesting as beings of pure imagination and beyond anything we will encounter here on Earth.
This is evident in some of her latest works with ‘Psychedelic Vitality’ (pictured above) looking as if it’s been brutally opened up as it crash-landed on Earth with new life inside ready to colonise the planet. While ‘Psychedelic Frost’ (pictured below) feels more delicate, resembling an egg made of snow, slowly unfurling and introducing new life more gently into the world.
While it’s her sculptures I’m immediately drawn to, drawing is also an important part of her practice with her works on paper displaying the details and intricacies that are mirrored in her sculptures. I imagine it’s this detail and craftsmanship that are key reasons why she’s been invited to show in exhibitions internationally and at art fairs.
Song makes striking sculptures with a wide range of materials including silver, glass and ceramic using each material’s qualities to draw us in and to make each series unique. Given that she’s still early in her career I wonder what other materials she will utilise, what unique creatures are yet to be created and how they will make viewers feel – I look forward to finding out.
You can find out more about Binghui Song’s work on her website and Instagram.
All images © Binghui Song.
