Chu Winnie Cheung is a contemporary jewellery artist living in Canada. She uses paper as a medium to study clouds and freedom. By reinterpreting shapes found in nature, she aims to restore the fundamental bond between humans and the environment. Her artistic practice serves as a meditative bridge connecting Chinese Shufa calligraphy and sculpture, where written words are seen as having souls that act as sacred vessels for history and ritual.
What was the inspiration for your Steinbeisser pieces?
I drew inspiration from natural shapes and Chinese culinary culture to dine with chopsticks. The plates take their organic shapes from stones, while the chopstick rests are inspired by the mountain-peak silhouettes often seen in traditional Maobi calligraphy brush stands, connecting my studio ritual practice and the table.
Describe your work in 3 words!
Ritualistic. Gray. Remaking.
What kind of materials do you use and where do you get them from?
I mainly use Xuanzhi Chinese calligraphy paper from my own studio practice, along with discarded office paper or posters. I collect my calligraphy practice sheets, tear, and soak them into pulp. I then reshape, dehydrate, carve, and sand this material into its final form.
Which conscious lifestyle choices are you making and are you considering any new ones?
My conscious lifestyle choice is to slow things down by staying with repetitive gestures, such as writing, cooking, and handling my materials. I believe it is a way to avoid being entirely carried away by the speed and expectations of the modern world.
What have you rebelled against in the past and what are you rebelling against now?
I don’t think I’m actually rebelling against anything, but I do find it difficult to keep up with the advancement of technology. I am delaying these quantitative technologies that alienate the human spirit from nature and confine us in edifices.