Heidi Lau: The Primordial Molder

Lau’s terrace installation at Bronx Museum, The Primordial Molder, is a continuation of her large-scale ceramic sculpture series that ruminates on the Taoist creation myth: in the primordial world, Nüwa the Snake Goddess marked the beginning of humanity by patching a giant hole in heaven with five-colored stones, using the legs of a great turtle as pillars to support the collapsed sky from the earth. 

The Primordial Molder is the representation of Nüwa’s form as a snake that is both anthropomorphic and architectural. Its body curls and tangles around itself to form a ring – a symbol of eternal return and the infinite life cycle.

Credit: Exhibition overview from museum website.