In this four-part ceramic work, Chin uses the Hollywood trope of trembling liquids as omens of imminent catastrophe to create a work that is both humorous and unnerving. Offering up a swirling bowl of soup as the central focus of each tile image, Chin captures the moments before disaster strikes, encouraging us to think about the close relationship between laughter and danger. The layout of the tiles emulates the shape of a camera lens, placing the viewer somewhere between cinema audience and protagonist. The particular spiral shape used in her bowl mirrors the form of a lituus wand, a tool used by Roman augurs to mark out sections of the sky and to foretell the future from the flight patterns of birds. The spiral itself is a form that can continue exponentially, spinning out of control – which, for Chin, has a direct resonance with the unfolding climate crisis of today. Chin is a keen observer of our shifting relationship with technology, particularly the devices and machines we use every day. Her often anarchic installations bring together multiple elements and materials in witty and fantastical ways, capturing a sense of the contradictions that these technologies can create.
