Handle with Care

Handle with Care inspired by Jooyun's story, 2024
Ceramic and mixed media, 174 x 60 x 34cm
$22,000

Vipoo explores Jooyun’s story by creating a large pregnant teapot deity with Jooyun’s teapot inside as a baby. Inside the teapot is a small golden gumtree representing Jooyun’s decision to become Australian. The sculpture is adorned with many teapots and various fruits that Jooyun used to pick when she first arrived in Australia.

JOOYUN'S STORY

I moved from Korea to Melbourne in 2010, as my brother-in-law had lived here when he was young. I couldn’t speak much English, so I was in a kind of culture shock. I hung around with Koreans having fun in Melbourne, and so I didn't experience much of Australia.

I didn't enjoy life in Melbourne, so I only stayed about six months. I was already 30 years old and working in the Korean restaurants for pocket money. I studied English in Language School but didn’t travel much.

I have a permanent visa now. The process was a bit more complicated than getting a working holiday visa as you need to prove your relationship, pay more fees and follow the long process.

I think language is the hardest part, because in first six months, I couldn't speak English at all. I have been living in Queensland, and it's a totally different vibe from Melbourne as it’s a rural country town. Back then I felt like an alien. People look at you, staring, and they don't understand you. Living in countryside is different. There is a lot of space and the people are more relaxed and there are grasses everywhere and animals around.

When I go to Korea now, there are too many people and the sky's different … it’s grey. I can't live in the city anymore because I have changed a lot living in the countryside and working on the farm for so many years. I feel more relaxed but a bit behind though, maybe because it’s a more isolated life.

OBJECT

My object is a porcelain teapot. I made teapots as part of my wheel throwing practice in university. If you make a good teapot, you are kind of there. I tried lots of different designs and started carving as well. The teapot I have chosen has a cracked handle as it didn't survive the glaze firing. It’s hard to use as a teapot so I use it as a pot plant.

Even though the teapot has a broken handle, I am attached to it … it’s a kind of obsession. It brings me back to university memories – the campus and the people, and all of us wearing our aprons. Twenty of us used to sit around, all dirty with clay, and eat food. It was a fun memory.

Many of my teapots had no handles as they were damaged in the firing. I didn't want to leave them behind as they are part of me. I now do pottery on the weekend in my little garage after working on the farm during the week. I enjoy making them but I am worried too. Where are they all going to go when I'm not around? They are me; they are my babies. I don't have human babies of my own, ha ha! I will need to work harder to find them a home.

Image top: Vipoo Srivilasa, Handle with Care, 2024 Photo: Simon Strong