Sami Tsang: Mooncake Party

2019 Gardiner Prize Winner

This lobby show features new work by Sami Tsang, the winner of the 2019 Gardiner Museum Prize, presented to a graduate of the Sheridan College Ceramics Program. The artist’s graphic, narrative sculptures negotiate her identity as a Canadian-born Chinese woman artist.

The Gardiner Museum’s Next Generation Program is made possible by Lead Supporter RBC Emerging Artists Project.

ARTIST STATEMENT

Growing up as the youngest child of a conservative Hong Kong family, my voice was not welcomed. The ability to speak soon faded away. I moved back to Canada at age 12, where the constant flux amidst Chinese and Western cultures created a series of traumatic issues. At 20, I began to resist my traditional role. Every day, I process my progress. I gather stories of domestic encounters and private narratives. I find relationships between these stories and the materials I use in my practice, such as clay, resin, rice paper and ballpoint pen. Is clay actually the old grump? Does making humorous sculpture help me to strip down guilt? Can using ballpoint pen bring back innocence? Chinese culture forbids speaking of family shame. My ultimate goal is to face head-on this heavy-hearted matter. When my heart allows, I convert these stories through the work of cartoon-like gesture into bearable, yet straightforward imagery to reveal the raw emotional experiences we share. Over time, I hope the sweet anticipation for mooncake parties will become fruitful.

About the artist

Sami Tsang was born in Canada and raised in Hong Kong. She studied traditional Chinese painting for 7 years, before returning to Canada to pursue her passion for art. She began her study of ceramics in the specialized art program at H. B. Beal Secondary School in London, Ontario. In 2015, she enrolled in the ceramics program at Sheridan College, where she was introduced to the broader clay community and guided attentively by her professors and peers. Tsang earned a Master of Fine Art degree in Ceramic Art at Alfred University (NY) in 2021. She has relocated to Toronto where she is currently establishing a studio.

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