Sinopticon: Contemporary Chinoiserie in Contemporary Art 

Laura White, The Esque Collection, 2012

Exploring the visual language of China or chinoiserie

ALSO AT: Saltram House (National Trust), Plymouth Arts Centre and Plymouth College of Art Gallery

Curated by Eliza Gluckman

Taking chinoiserie as a starting point this partnership exhibition explores our relationship with China both historically and through contemporary eyes.

‘Chinoiserie’, a French term meaning ‘Chinese-esque’, derived from the Seventeenth Century as an entirely European style that was influenced wholly from China and the East.

Through form and decorative narrative in chinoiserie the exhibition looks at themes such as value and taste, fantasy, replication and stereotyping of images, identity politics, racism, trade and production values, authorship and the contested territory of the exotic.

The exhibition looks to unpick these themes in a contemporary context and shed light on how pervasive Chinese culture, industry and aesthetics are in our everyday lives.

Artists include 2003 Turner Prize winner, Grayson Perry, 2001 Turner Prize nominee, Isaac Julien, Gayle Chong Kwan, Stephanie Douet, Suki Chan, Christian Janowski, Tsang Kin-Wah and Ed Pien.
http://www.sinopticon.org