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 WALL OF DEATH by Chris D. Harvey

A long time ago, my father started riding his motorcycle in the Wall of Death at carnivals all over England. Biking round and round in that giant barrel, up and down the steep walls, he thought would be a way to make money fast. Careening one-handed, winning even, still, enough money didn’t come. Death didn’t, […]

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