Benton Ching

For Benton Ching, historical texts serve as a powerful mirror. Studying medieval bestiaries and encyclopaedias, he was struck by depictions of chimerical creatures like the Nereid and Manticore, which combine animal and human features. What do they say about our own animal nature and place in the natural order? In addition to sculptural interpretations of miniatures from Der Naturen Bloeme – the first Dutch encyclopaedia – Benton also made allegorical work connected to the mandrake, a root attributed with magical and medicinal qualities. It was believed to emit a deadly sound when rend from the earth, with manuscripts illustrating the use of sacrificial dogs to extract the plant. This inspired Benton to make a series of resting dogs covered in slumped glass blankets. The work evokes chilling images of the ways we subordinate animal well-being – their role in the medical industrial complex, their connection to labour, and as objects of affection.

Ching’s residency was primarily focused on research — which he organized through a series of projects of different scales, intensities and modes of play. Over the course of three months, he, for example, worked to develop and his own version of clinker clay; dredged clay and glaze waste from the drain catches of fellow residents and fired the materials to see what might result; he conducted glaze research based on the geological layers of the earth; and, for the first time, worked figurately, producing a series of medium-sized sculptures. Ching also worked with a variety of techniques — from hand-building to press-moulding, carving to extruding — in porcelain and stoneware in high and low firings. He collaborated with Make, Eindhoven and conducted research at the Royal Library of the Netherlands, The Hague.