Our aim was to design an object or experience that helps one feel a deeper connection to ones family history, and to create something of great personal value.
Storyware communicates a story through a functional set of objects. Drinking tea is traditionally a communal activity, and a time for families to discuss and share. Stories are harvested from family members, recorded, and then embedded into ceramic using technology similar to vinyl records or wax cylinders. Throwing clay is a traditional craft, and the fragility of the material acts as a reminder of the fragility of family heritage as migration disperses close-knit families and communities.
The tea-cups and their integral narratives are to be protected, enjoyed and cherished.
These tea-cups were hand crafted from porcelain with the help of ceramic students at Tsinghua University in Beijing, China. Sound was then etched into the outer surface using an ad-hoc dictaphone. The result is a functional set of ceremonial cups with an embedded audio history, which can be played back via analog sound devices.
For this particular set we recorded the voice of Dr. Li. Dr. Li is a retired professor of Tsinghua University who has opened his own vocational training school in inner-city Beijing; teaching impoverished teenagers how to build and repair computers. The school, located in an ancient Hutong,, will soon be displaced due to rapid urban development of inner Beijing. Dr. Li’s story was played back through Storyware cups on a salvaged record player as part of an effort for Chinese cultural retention.
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