MAYDAY

NATURALISATION: exploring what it means to be British/Chinese by Anthony Key

Contributed By:

WOK/SATELLITE DISH (1996)
THREE LIONS ON A SHIRT (1996)

“Footballs coming home” is the first line to the English national football song.
SOY/KETCHUP (1997)

The word “ketchup” is derived from a Cantonese word meaning “thick tomato sauce.”
CULTURE TO GO (2002)

The artist recorded a three-day conference called Contemporary Chinese Arts in the International Arena held at the British Museum and after cut them up into eight-inch strips to represent brown soy noodles, and then placed these noodles into the new-style, microwaveable, plastic takeaway cartons. The eight ninety-minute audiotapes of the conference were transformed into eight takeaway dishes – in Chinese eating culture, eight dishes signify a banquet.
BREAD/NOODLES (1997)
BATTLE OF BRITAIN (2007)

The Chinese flags and military banners peppering this monumental table map of Great Britain (based on the original World War II Operations Room maps) carry the names of every Chinese restaurant in Britain, and are placed in all the cities, towns, and villages where the restaurants are based.

 

Return to table of contents for PRACTICES, POWER & THE PUBLIC SPHERE

Return to table of contents for Issue 2 Winter 2010

Filed Under: Art

Further Reading

The Covenant of User Agreeements
by C. Kubasta

“Many of our passwords are suffused with pathos, mischief, sometimes even poetry.”   I do not know what I am agreeing to when I am agreeing yet I click the button that signifies I agree.   In the aftermath of tragedy, you may get a call, asking personal questions: “What is your wedding anniversary? Tell […]

Privilege
by Allison Blevins

I’m going to stop coming out in the usual I don’t want to offend you way. I’ll tell the next children’s librarian who asks me my husband’s name about the time a cop held my wife against our car, ran his hands slowly up her legs, pushed his dry thumb inside her, then walked away.     […]

To a Jar by Henryk Cierniak
(Translated from Polish by John Guzlowski)

oh tiny jar sealed up with rubber and a fastener just in case it’s not true that you carry emptiness inside – you contain room for happiness and sorrows and the pickled cucumbers are nice oh you jar the friend of long hours at the fireplace and summer revels faithful friend the transparent jar made […]

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