AMPANG, MALAYSIA — Sept. 10, 2025
Centuries after a Portuguese merchant ship sank off Malaysia’s coast, porcelain cargo once destined for the scrap heap has found new life — as contemporary art.

In her evocative solo exhibition titled "Me, Then Blue," Malaysian artist Alice Chang reimagines broken blue-and-white porcelain shards salvaged from the 17th-century Wanli shipwreck, transforming historical fragments into sculptures that echo the ocean’s forgotten dreamscapes.

The exhibition, held at Chang’s studio in Ampang, a suburb of Kuala Lumpur, reflects a deep engagement with both maritime heritage and personal identity.

💎 From Scrap to Sculpture

The journey began when Chang, 57, came across a social media post offering 50kg of salvaged porcelain shards for sale. The fragments originated from Jingdezhen, China’s legendary porcelain capital, and had once formed part of the cargo aboard a Portuguese vessel that likely sank in battle around 1625.

Though intact pieces from the Wanli shipwreck were preserved in museums, these shards were discarded — until Chang saw their artistic and historical value. She bought the lot for over RM10,000 (US$2,150).

“The 400 years of broken porcelain tell a story of our past and a look into our future,” she said. “If nobody wanted them, they would be thrown away — and that is such a waste.”

🌊 Submerged Dreamscapes and Cultural Connection

Using the pieces, Chang constructed 11 sculptures and 20 oil paintings, recreating an atmosphere meant to feel submerged in the deep blue sea. Beneath several sculptures, mirrored platforms mimic shimmering seabeds, amplifying the sense of immersion.

Some works resemble traditional Chinese vases, others echo the movement of cascading waves, all paying tribute to the vessel that once carried them across the maritime Silk Road.

“This is part of Malaysia’s history… its maritime legacy often goes unrecognised, and this discovery felt like a forgotten chapter waiting to be told,” said Chang.

🧩 A Personal Search for Belonging

For Chang, who is of Chinese heritage but married to an Italian, the project was also a way to explore and reclaim a fragmented sense of identity.

“I have been told I’m not very Chinese because I’m married to an Italian. So I’m neither here nor there,” she laughed.
“This project reconnected me to my Chinese roots. I actually travelled to China to search and understand my culture.”

Working with the 400-year-old porcelain became a deeply personal act of restoration, both artistically and culturally.

✨ Finding Beauty in Brokenness

At its core, “Me, Then Blue” celebrates transformation — taking shattered objects and turning them into symbols of resilience and rediscovery.

“Depending on your perspective, you can turn brokenness into something beautiful,” Chang said.
“There is beauty in brokenness.”

Her work not only preserves a piece of Southeast Asian maritime history, now recognized under UNESCO’s Silk Roads Programme, but also reminds viewers of the enduring value in what others might discard.