Xiaowei Shi
Batu Giling: to Nourish is to Wear Away
This sculptural work transforms the Batu Giling, a traditional Southeast Asian stone grinder, into an intimate portrait of a mother and child, an enduring symbol of nourishment and labor.
Composed of a slab and a cylindrical stone, the Batu Giling moves in a steady rhythm, grinding spices and herbs into fine pastes (rempah) in Malay households before the rise of electric grinders. Within this lineage, mothers taught their daughters the cadence of care - not too hard, not too fast - where a well-made rempah revealed patience, precision, and heart.
The relationship between the two ceramic forms reflects this quiet, cyclical devotion. The back-and-forth gesture is embodied: the mother gives of herself continuously; through pressure, motion, and time, she enables transformation. The act of grinding - of wearing down - is both literal and metaphorical, echoing the unseen labor of caregiving. Yet within this erosion lies resilience; the mother form remains grounded and enduring, bearing repetition without collapse.
Here, the Batu Giling becomes a vessel of memory and the intimate bond between nourishment and care. The work honors the quiet rituals of the everyday, where devotion is not declared, but enacted again and again with each turn of the hand.