Working collaboratively with teams of local craftsmen in a Chinese manufactory in Jingdezhen, Aylieff has explored how technologies can be adapted to produce appropriate, original and unique contemporary sculptural expressions. Her research has resulted in artworks using an extreme scale not typically associated with porcelain. During a series of residencies in Jingdezhen, Aylieff investigated local traditional ‘blue and white’ ceramic techniques, including glaze application, decorative brushwork and firing methods.
This body of research was presented primarily through exhibitions. Aylieff was one of eight leading makers whose work was selected to be shown in 2011-12 for ‘Porcelain City Jingdezhen’, a joint exhibition by Felicity Aylieff, Roger Law, Ah Xian, and Takeshi Yasuda at the V&A Museum. The exhibition focused on the rich language and history of Chinese porcelain and present-day life in Jingdezhen through contemporary ceramic production. The publication Porcelain City Jingdezhen, which accompanied the exhibition, included an essay by Aylieff: ‘Scooters, Buddhas and water lilies’.
Aylieff also contributed work to ‘Contemporary Craft Comes to No.10’, a joint exhibition shown at No.10 Downing Street in 2011. Reflecting on the exhibition, Culture Minister Ed Vaizey said: ‘Contemporary craft doesn’t necessarily have the same profile as contemporary art, but it is no less important in terms of creativity or its ability to enrich people’s lives’ (News Release, DCMS, July 2011). ‘China’s White Gold’, an exhibition held at the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge (2012-13), also featured eight of Aylieff’s pieces, including four monumental works.
Pieces from the exhibitions were acquired by public institutions and for major international collections including the Museum of Wales; V&A; Shipley Art Gallery; York Museum, and Chatsworth House. During her residency at Jingdezhen, Aylieff was interviewed for the BBC4 television documentary Treasures of Chinese Porcelain (2011).