Pollywog, an upcoming exhibit at the Esplanade, dives into the fascinating world of axolotls. The exhibit begins in October.--SUBMITTED PHOTO
Local ceramicist Koi Neng Liew was cleaning his son’s axolotl tanks one day when he noticed one of the axolotl’s limbs was missing. After a moment, he realized one of the other two must have eaten it. The horror!
Luckily for everyone involved, axolotls have a special biological ability that allows them to regrow missing body parts. Though somewhat gruesome (and not all that uncommon), this incident was the impetus for the creation of a new body of work that will be presented in his upcoming exhibition, “Pollywog,” opening at Esplanade Project Space this fall.
I came to this project with very little knowledge of axolotls beyond them being funny little amphibians with happy-go-lucky faces. Obviously though, as alluded to by their incredible regenerative abilities, there’s so much more to them that meets the eye. In “Pollywog”, Liew fixates on this regenerative trait specifically and explores this kind of resiliency in connection to our own human cycles of loss and healing. Regrowth is a simultaneously painful and miraculous endeavour. What would it feel like to recreate a part of yourself from scratch? How would you come to terms with this familiar yet foreign object? What kind of endurance is demanded from you in this process?
This also asks the question of what healing looks like and what form it may take. Liew suggests his own answer by grafting rabbit ears and entire second heads onto some of his ceramic axolotls. It’s a playful gesture but there’s a lot of power in speculation. To ask, “what if?” is to challenge comfortable confines and realities and willingly venture into unknown territories. It’s an audacious practice that should be performed more often. Healing doesn’t necessarily mean a restoration of our original states. If we found ourselves free from our limitations, what would open up to us? What kind of space could we make for transformation?
To my understanding, the exact reason for an axolotl’s regenerative ability is still being contested but some scientists attribute it to a biological phenomenon called neoteny, which allows creatures like axolotls to retain their adolescent characteristics despite reaching full maturity. There’s something a bit cheeky about holding fast to youth and being rewarded for it with supernatural healing powers! In this sense, “Pollywog” feels like an invitation to embody a youthful resiliency and adopt an audacious imagination in the facilitation of healing. Allow yourself to be expansive!
“Pollywog” by Koi Neng Liew is on display at Esplanade Project Space from October 2024 to March 2025. “Scouring Heaven and Earth” by Gabriel Esteban Molina is currently on view at TREX Space until Nov. 2.
Thea Sleight is the travelling exhibitions assistant for TREX Southeast and curator of Esplanade Project Space. The Esplanade Project Space, formerly known as the Tumbleweed Project Space, is the vitrines on the North (Second Street SE) and West (Fourth Avenue) side of the building.
