Meichen Chen

During her studies at the RCA, Meichen started to explore the topic of mutation. And the observation of natural living beings that have a strong vitality. She has an interest in exploring radical activities that work against marginalisation, especially in relation to female perspectives and the oppression of a patriarchal society

She believes that the anthropocentric mindset has made humans increasingly greedy and arrogant. Humans invade natural habitats and manipulate genes to serve human purposes, this brings about the possibility of destruction. The long-standing oppression of female led her to connect with plants and animals that are oppressed by humans. Meichen looks to how natural beings, use their unique abilities to challenge dominant structures, and provide people the inspiration to move into a different future.

Meichen’s work seeks to set up a scenario in which non-human organisms disrupt human environments. They grow and becoming overwhelming fast, hurting other things without noticing, growing up in unexpected ways and places. Sensing with their roots, some of them can heal individually and have the ability to grow anew after having parts cut off.

Meichen combines many different ceramic techniques, syringing slip, slab building and press moulding, as well as using a combination of different clay fragments throughout her work. She also aims to combine ceramic elements with different artificial materials, such as concrete and furniture, to convey a sense of the power of mutated living beings to break through human space.