Haejin Lee (hay-jin lee) is a ceramic sculptor who specializes in making functional tableware. Her bowls and coffee mugs are practical and look traditional. But she also enjoys getting creative and taking risks with startlingly strange clay busts, like the example shown above. The Vancouver, British Columbia-based artist explains that she is interested in “taking a risk to create a beautiful, visual communication.” 

The sculpture seems to be unraveling right before the viewer’s eyes. Lee uses ribbons of stoneware clay to form the face and neck. She renders the facial features in a realistic style and juxtaposes the face’s serene expression with the chaotic swirling ribbons. The bust seems to stare straight ahead, while the clay ribbons appear to peel away, creating frenzied knots. By choosing to show the figure in a dramatic and unexpected way, Lee encourages her viewers to think about what might lie beneath the clay layers.