
Porcelain sculptures, with their delicate beauty and transformative nature, have become an unexpected medium for artists probing the boundaries of reality. By manipulating this fragile material, creators physically manifest the tension between perceived existence and potential artifice central to the simulation hypothesis.
Contemporary artists like Lee Bul construct fractured porcelain figures that appear to glitch—visual metaphors for digital reality errors. Others, such as Liu Jianhua, create hyper-realistic yet deliberately incomplete porcelain objects, suggesting our world might be an unfinished rendering. The material's paradoxical qualities (strong yet brittle, translucent yet solid) mirror simulation theory's core questions about substance versus illusion.
Some installations arrange porcelain elements in algorithmic patterns, echoing code-based universes. The firing process itself—where clay undergoes radical transformation—parallels the hypothesis that base reality might be fundamentally altered before perception. By forcing viewers to confront the fragility of both porcelain and perceived reality, these works invite us to consider: If even solid objects might be constructs, what does that reveal about existence itself?
The tactile nature of porcelain sculptures grounds abstract philosophical concepts in sensory experience. Cracks become cosmic flaws, smooth surfaces turn into perfect simulations, and the inevitable imperfections of handcrafted pieces suggest our reality's possible handmade origins. In galleries, viewers often report uncanny feelings when observing these works—precisely the emotional response that mirrors humanity's deepest uncertainties about the nature of existence.