Hua arbeitet mit Stein und braucht morgens Ruhe, bevor der Tag laut wird.
The story
Hua stands on the stool, holding the chisel slightly askew. Light falls flat over the left shoulder, tracing the contour of the figure emerging from the stone. Dust particles spin behind the windows, linger for a moment in the air, then fall onto the apron. She tilts her head, checks the line, taps once, and hears the echo in the hall.
The setting
The workshop hall is long and narrow, with concrete pillars and dusty beams. On one wall hang templates, next to a white apron on a hook. The windows are half sealed, but the light remains clear.
Who she is
Die Bildhauerin
Hua took over the old workshop hall in Gewerbering Street two years ago after her uncle returned to Foshan. She makes small marble and plaster figures, mainly commissions for architecture firms, and occasionally exhibits at regional fairs. The shoot came about when an acquaintance from the local culture office needed photos for a series on young craftswomen, and Hua had no objection to the documentary approach as long as she could continue working.
Her world
Hua works in a former factory hall at the edge of the city, a place that, like the Arnheim safe factory in Berlin, has shifted from industrial history to a sculptor's workshop.[2][5]
Such halls offer up to 3600 square meters of floor space and ceiling heights of roughly 12 meters, enough air for the bright winter northern light to fall from above and make every crystal of dust visible as it floats in her studio.[2]
In Berlin sculptor workshops, stone, wood, plaster, ceramic and plastics are organized in separate work zones, and Hua has translated this order on a smaller scale with a stone bench, wood stack and a plaster corner inside her hall.[2][5]
A short glossary
Bildhauerwerkstatt
Shared workshop hall with specialized zones for stone, wood, plaster, ceramic and plastics where many artists work at the same time.[2][5]
Gipsformerei
Work area where negative molds and models are made from plaster to be transferred later into stone, metal or other materials.[2]
Steinwerkstatt
Zone of a hall where marble, limestone or granite is worked with chisel, hammer and grinding tools, usually with dusty floors and heavy equipment.[2][5]
Galerie
Raised or long walkways in a factory hall on which sculptures are presented and from which one gains an overview of the work areas.[2]
