This research aims to explore the notion of ‘in-betweenness’, a state of being both one thing and another, and to investigate how both the literal and metaphorical attributes of glass can be used to create objects that fall between conventional categories.

Glassmaking is a forgotten skill in East Asia; in early times it was common there but became sporadic throughout history, being revived as the increase in exchange with Europe began, in the sixteenth century. The material and object exchanges across continents involved not only tangible elements, but also, more importantly, broader associated cultures, including knowledge, skill, aesthetic value and philosophy, which travelled in the form of appropriation, adaptation and imitation between the two continents. In particular, decorative images featured frequently on glass objects from the seventeenth to the nineteenth centuries, illustrating distinctive cultural hybridity.

The objective of this research is to add a new perspective to cross-cultural stylistic developments between East and West from a practitioner’s point of view. It is investigated through an analysis of historical glass artefacts and contemporary art practice, critical observations on the mainstream discourse of glass, and the articulation of making processes and end products. Employing glass as a free-form implement and printed pattern as a rigidly structured order, two characteristically discrete media in their initial state become integrated into one when they are molten. The researcher’s studio practice demonstrates an approach to hybridisation both in terms of binaries of surface/depth, interior/exterior and glass/print and also multi-cultural patterns; it intends to go beyond being mere collages of distinctively different media and patterns.

The practice-led research takes the form of visual and written documentation of a series of experiments and the presentation of a body of work. The researcher’s own art practice is utilised as an exploratory implement for the formation of arguments. The arguments addressed within the practice are articulated and contextualised through comparative studies in the histories of art and visual culture.