ONLINE REVIEW
ONE MILLION @ FASHION WHISPER
Published: October 11, 2023
Location: Online
- Text from Fashion Whisper
PORCELAIN ART – We have had some new, beautiful porcelain essentials in our living room for a few weeks now. I always find it impressive how objects evoke memories in me. Porcelain was already very important to our grandparents, and it was also very important to us. Because porcelain always brings a story with it. For this reason, we are always looking for porcelain items that fit into my everyday life and become a part of it. For this reason, I am even more pleased to be able to introduce you to the exciting brand ONE MILLION BY ULI AIGNER.
ONE MILLION - Design & Function
As I said at the beginning, porcelain was always something special for me that was usually only taken out on important occasions or that spent most of the time in the display case. For me, porcelain is part of everyday life and should also be included in my daily routine. That's why we've had porcelain items for a long time that are used every day, for example for drinking coffee. Here we rely on timeless and aesthetic design, paired with functionality. We have a few items from ONE MILLION BY ULI AIGNER that perfectly match our understanding of contemporary porcelain. Because craftsmanship is there to integrate it into the present. We were very fascinated by the artist Uli Aigner with her porcelain items and her story about how she approaches her life with porcelain. To this end, Uli addressed the question: “What is my body capable of?” This is the question that concerns Uli very much and that she wants to ask herself for the rest of her life. She sees her work not as work, but as an artist's performance.
She wants to create porcelain and wants to carry the ancient craft tradition into the next generations. This is exactly where I would like to pick up and introduce some of our new items. Our first item is a freely turned urn that totally suits our taste. We especially like the great shape, which is very minimalist and timeless. I can really imagine how the urn was created on the potter's wheel and how it grew in height. We also fell in love with the different vases and cups from Uli. The freely rotated cups, which are all very different in shape, are particularly impressive because of their very unique shape. Both are visually very interesting and show the variety of vessels that Uli Aigner produces. Like all vessels, these were created by hand on the potter's wheel, very minimalist and timeless in our opinion. It's also a sensual experience in terms of haptics, even if it's just porcelain. Both vessels are glazed and have a smooth, shiny surface. The vessels correspond entirely to our taste; they are different, minimalist, delicate and timeless. The artist also conveys messages with each vessel. Because porcelain is a storage medium that can last for many centuries. We love it!
ONE MILLION - The Brand
Porcelain is a key to the world, says artist Uli Aigner. She wants to make 1 million porcelain vessels by the end of her life. Each of the vessels is unique. Each unique item sets off and is recorded on a digital world map at the customer's destination. This means all fans can see where the unique items are distributed in the world. All locations of all vessels are continuously entered and updated. I think the idea is super smart and as a fan of Uli Aigner you can actually see where the unique pieces are. Since 2014, each unique item has been numbered chronologically. Uli Aigner creates each unique piece by hand and always pursues her goal of making 1 million porcelain vessels by the end of her life.
The ONE MILLION porcelain vessels are a tribute, a reminder of the encounters with a person, an organization or an institution that has come into contact with me. Each vessel is part of a permanently and uncontrollably expanding whole. Each object is depicted at its respective location on a digital world map. All owners of the vessels become part of this global narrative. Uli Aigner’s statement: “All porcelain vessels are made in my hands. My own body does the physical work - turning the porcelain on the wheel - as a kind of reward. A digital iceberg with a porcelain tip is emerging, floating around globally, hybrid and connecting, out of control and autonomous.
Each vessel has a 500-year guarantee. Damaged vessels will be exchanged for new ones when they are returned to me. A slowly accumulating archive of remaining or returned porcelain is being created. My body is the geographical zero point of ONE MILLION. From there, the vessels scatter like white dots all over the world. Porcelain is a political material, it is my storage medium.” I am happy to be part of the movement and am absolutely thrilled by the lifelong performance that Uli translates into art.
