Zihao Xiong

Born and raised in a mountain town in China, Zihao abandoned his studies in economics in 2017 to pursue glass art in Canada. During his BFA (Hons) he was awarded an International Baccalaureate Scholarship and a funded Artist Residency in Toronto. In 2021, he continued his materials research at the Royal College of Art with a full grant from the China Scholarship Council and graduated with an MA in Ceramics & Glass.

Zihao is one of the first fellows of the Pilchuck Glass School in Seattle. His research was awarded first prize in the Tin project by The Worshipful Company of Tin Plate Workers, alias Wire Workers of the City of London, and Zihao was invited to become an Honorary Yeoman.

The essence of casting is predetermined, while the mould is a collection of expectations and definitions. Zihao’s practice is experimental and based on transforming and fusing different materials in a changing environment. This series of works is formed by casting glass and metal together but is not entirely bound or defined by the mould.

The method of shaping the work draws on the ancient ritual process of wax divination known as carromancy. It is an attempt to use fate to represent the opposite of certainty. Zihao’s castings are achieved through a fusion of different materials and highlight the uncertainty of the making process, which often reveals new possibilities.