[33] Common Room (2026) by Mud Rock Ceramics

Mud Rock Ceramics’ Michelle describes her work and creative process:

I didn’t want to be literal, BUT I have been drawing floorplans since I was 6years old, before I could even do math because my dad, who was a quantity surveyor, would bring home scrolls of floorplans and buildings. So after I drew that big ass rainbow, I HAD to put in a floorplan of a three-room flat that was completely drawn out of memory (I too, as a queer Singaporean, had scoured through PropertyGuru and seen hundreds of common rooms in HDBs).

Clay colored chalk in 7 hues was added over a top layer of white slip, a black stain hand-painted floor plan on newspaper was then transferred in a corner, and 24K gold leaf was then added in splatters below it because every rainbow has its pot of gold, right?

Specifications:
– Medium: Stoneware, 24K gold leaf, white slip, clay-coloured chalk in seven hues, black stain hand-painted floor plan, reduction-fired
– Dimensions: 9 x 9 x 19 cm (L x B x H cm)
– Auction winner will receive a physical certificate of confirmation. We will reach out within 5 working days after the event to make delivery arrangements.

About Common Room:
Common Room by ants chua is a celebration of the emotional, physical, and relational work of queer living. It follows two young adults who get the rare opportunity to share a living space of their own in Singapore; it’s all too easy to fall into mundane patterns of domestic responsibility. But within these rote routines lies the magic of profound late-night conversations about one’s place in the world, spontaneous deep dives into exes and lost friends, and musings about what the future holds.

Directors Claire Wong and ants chua reveal a rare insight into the domestic spaces that allow us to be the most vulnerable, and the tender efforts we make to grapple with our past mistakes and our present selves. An exploration of loving, living and dreaming amidst the relentless rhythm and rupture of daily life, Common Room is both familiar and new; at once poetic and irreverent.

“COMMON ROOM feels like one of those pieces that deserves to be experienced twice”

— @jessyculturepass

About Mud Rock Ceramics:
Mud Rock is a ceramic studio based in Singapore, founded by ceramics artists Ng Seok Har and Michelle Lim, who have each been practising ceramics professionally for over 17 years.

We are makers of mud and clay who bond over the love of beautiful ceramics that serve us daily. From multiple bowls to a single sculpture, we find a never-ending joy in making, exploring and serving with clay.

With our own kilns, glaze laboratory and equipment, we are able to produce works, glaze formulas and even clay types for specific needs. Though dedicated to our craft, we believe in collaborations to see how our medium can complement others and to learn from those experiences.

Our current clientele comprises restaurants, design companies, architecture firms, government bodies, corporate organisations, and the quirky individual. With over 14 years of experience in the ceramics industry locally and internationally, we provide consultation on various ceramics projects as well.

With tongue-in-cheek, Mud Rock is named in reference to the local sub-culture of ‘Mat Rok’ in Singapore, as ceramic craft too is often teased as a sub-culture of the Arts. Michelle Lim and Ng Seok Har both fell in love with pottery on their individual journeys before coming together.

Driven by a lifelong love for the arts, Ng Seok Har left the banking industry to reinvest and develop her skills in ceramics making. Her journey in pottery started in Tokyo, Japan. Returning to Singapore, she continued her training intensively with a local potter, Jaqueline Low, before taking on an apprenticeship with a Thai ceramics production house under the guidance of the renowned Thai master, Somluk Pantiboon. Since then, Seok has been a full-time potter in Mud Rock and has exhibited locally and internationally as well.

As a professional ceramicist, craftsperson and maker, Michelle is versatile and cross-disciplinary. She has been an industrial designer and educator of youth at risk, for which she has received awards, and has exhibited in several local and international solo and group ceramic shows. During her Ceramics Degree, she was awarded the much-coveted Sir Geoffrey Yeend Scholarship, and completed her Bachelor’s majoring in Ceramics with First Class Honours at the Australian National University. She has been practising ceramics for over 15 years now. As the co-founder of Awaken the Dragon, Singapore’s ceramics festival, Michelle has given TED talks on Ceramics in Singapore and also guest lectured at Art and Design schools in Singapore.

“To hear Ng Seok Har and Michelle Lim talk about pottery is to experience love. They wax lyrical about how a vase is made, from the kneading and throwing of the clay, to bestowing it a form on the wheel, till it’s baptised by fire in the kiln.”

— “Obsessed Much: Ceramics” by Esquire Singapore

Mud Rock Ceramics Founders describe their work and creative process:

“If we can’t appreciate the beauty and craft behind a cup we use and hold to our lips daily, how can we understand fine art cases in museums?” [Mud Rock Ceramics] wanted to show others a connection between ceramics as a functional utility and an artistic object.

— Tatler Asia