Shoko’s recent works have become increasingly monumental, but this piece, from her series Jingdezhen Porcelain, works in miniature in a statement about the relationship between the quintessential art media of China, porcelain, and Japan, urushi. Shoko visited Jindezhen for research in 2019, acquiring pieces of porcelain. Under her artistic vision, the midnight-blue glazed ceramic meiping vase appears to melt and drip. The work celebrates the separate artistic traditions of Japan and China – combining the flow of history and the fluidity of lacquer.