A series of room-like ceramic sculptures drawing from the instinctual shelters of the animal world — ant colonies, beehives, tree hollows, dens. Each piece is a body in repose, named for the layer of itself it most resembles: Bone, Flesh, Shell, Body.
Yangzi's journey into this series began after moving from a Brooklyn apartment to a rural upstate New York home. Immersed in nature, she found herself observing the instinctual behaviors of animals, inspiring her to create her own shelters through the labor of making.
Crafted from low-fire red clay sourced locally, kaolin from Florida, and porcelain from Jingdezhen, the material process mirrors swallows gathering mud to build nests — reflecting the labor of inhabiting and creating. Each sculpture stands alone yet connects with others to form living biotypes.
