Included in Forever Tomorrow: Chinese Art Now at Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, Liu Xi presents a body of ceramic work centred on the female form — specifically, golden ceramic vaginas impressed with lace patterns and twisted into unique shapes by hand. The work opens from a simple premise: that what is universal should not be unspeakable.

Craftsmanship, she insists, is inseparable from conception. Each piece is distinct, particular, and beautiful.

The lace carries its own history. In the sixteenth century it was luxury material, made by women’s hands for wealthy patrons. Now it is mass-produced, machine-made, available to anyone. For Liu Xi, that shift is the point: something once gatekept by class and labour has become common property.