DAVID ZINK YI
ALL MY COLOURS

HAUBROK FOUNDATION, BERLIN, GERMANY
8 SEPTEMBER – 27 OCTOBER 2024

OPENING
8 SEPTEMBER | 4 – 7 PM
Spanning video and sculpture to ceramics, sound, and performance, David Zink Yi’s practice is a varied exploration of relationships and dependencies. In his organic approach, ceramics morph into abstract photography, patterns formed through glazing become fabrics, and sculptures evolve into instruments. His studio is a space of experimentation, a laboratory for the interrogation of physical properties. The materials he employs are dramatically transformed through their interaction with Zink Yi. For instance, in the case of his ceramics, the viewer can examine the force of the artist’s hands in the final sculptures: how they kneaded, cut, pressed, and finally applied the glaze to the surface. All these actions and the repeated exposure to extremely high temperatures through firing appear to be designed as a test of endurance.

The exhibition titled ALL MY COLOURS is shared by Zink Yi’s ongoing series of glazed stoneware sculptures. These and all of his objects are unique, many in number, and defiant of easy classification. The purpose of form for Zink Yi is to provide a surface for investigation, making his work the product of rigorous testing of material techniques. A library of outcomes, but pushing against this procedural rigidity is the unpredictability of the nebulous surfaces and final resting shapes. Experienced in different formations that range from immersive installations to intimate groupings, David Zink Yi’s work therefore occupies a space between precision and the surrender of control.

David Zink Yi: ALL MY COLOURS (installation view), all photos by Ludger Paffrath for the haubrok foundation, Berlin 2024 

FEATURED ARTIST

DAVID ZINK YI
David Zink Yi (b. 1973 in Lima, Peru) lives and works in Berlin. He explores the body as a site of identity, memory, and transformation, engaging with a wide range of media in the process. From video and sculpture to ceramics, sound, and performance, his art reflects his complex heritage. As a descendant of Indigenous Peruvians, as well as Chinese, Italian, and German immigrants, his own body – situated at the intersection of diverse cultural identities – becomes a focal point in his practice. Zink Yi’s earliest works focused on self-reflection, using the camera to develop a form of self-ethnography. This approach later evolved into a prot...
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