Fremantle Arts Centre, August-October, 2022
In 1999 Robert Copeland described the myriad of Willow Pattern tableware produced in Britain over the past three centuries as ‘gentle misinterpretations’ of Chinese culture. However Blue Willow – unquestionably the world’s favourite china motif – was in fact Chinoiserie, aggressively marketed to undercut the Chinese domination of the global ceramics market.
As a marketing ploy, the design was accompanied by an ‘authentic’ legend capitalising on the European craze for the ‘far East’, while simultaneously portraying Chinese culture as mysogenistic and tyrannical; it was so effective that Asian ceramicists were soon forced to copy the design, further fuelling the myth of its authenticity. The pattern’s ongoing popularity reflects the extent to which ‘the West’ was and continues to be fascinated by – and appropriate - the aesthetic traditions of Asia.
Chinoiserie remains something of a guilty pleasure, via its undeniable aesthetic charm, but intensely-problematic and kitsch appropriation of Asian culture. It reflects the worst excesses of colonial imperialism, yet reflects a level of fascination for the Asian ‘other’ that could be seen as (albeit naively) cosmopolitan in spirit. This exhibition invites a number Western Australian artists to develop new works investigating this aesthetic legacy.
The core of the exhibition will be the outcomes of a series of residencies at the Brighton Museum & Art Gallery, and the adjoining Brighton Pavilion, England, and The Pottery Workshop in Jingdezhen, China, between 2015-2018.
Image: Production still from Gulchenrouz by Andrew Nicholls. Image by Casey Ayres with thanks to the Royal Pavilion and Museums, Brighton.
Project participants
Project Curator
Andrew Nicholls
Participating artists
Abdul Abdullah
Casey Ayres
Nathan Beard
Sandra Black
Tanija and Graham Carr
David Charles Collins
Theo Costantino
Tarryn Gill
Pilar Mata-Dupont
Cherish Marrington
Andrew Nicholls
with
Marek Szyler
HIP Company with Teresa Tan
And artisans from Brighton, UK and Jingdezhen, China
Image: Detail view of A Gentle Misinterpretation installation at Fremantle Arts Centre featuring works by David Charles Collins, Tanija and Graham Carr, Andrew Nicholls, Theo Costantino, Nathan Beard, Susan Flavell, and Andrew Nicholls featuring HIP Company with Teresa Tan, with wall murals by Marek Szyler. Photograph by Dan McCabe, c/o Fremantle Arts Centre.
Exhibition entryway, photographed by Dan McCabe, c/o Fremantle Arts Centre. Plinth decoration by Marek Szyler.
Works by Tarryn Gill and Pilar Mata Dupont visible in background. Photograph by Dan McCabe, c/o Fremantle Arts Centre.
Photograph by Dan McCabe, c/o Fremantle Arts Centre.
Photograph by Dan McCabe, c/o Fremantle Arts Centre.
‘The China Closet’ and ‘The Bedroom Closet’ featuring works by Andrew Nicholls, Cherish Marrington, Pilar Mata Dupont, Tarryn Gill and Sandra Black, with wall murals by Marek Szyler. Photograph by Miles Noel, c/o Fremantle Arts Centre.
‘The Bedroom Closet’ featuring works by Cherish Marrington, Pilar Mata Dupont and Tarryn Gill, with wall murals by Marek Szyler. Photograph by Miles Noel, c/o Fremantle Arts Centre.
Mixed media installation with printed curtain and hall runner. Photograph by Dan McCabe, c/o Fremantle Arts Centre.
‘The Menagerie’ featuring works by Abdul Abdullah, Susan Flavell, Sandra Black, Andrew Nicholls and David Charles Collins, with plinth decoration by Marek Szyler. Photograph by Dan McCabe, c/o Fremantle Arts Centre.
‘The Menagerie’ featuring works by David Charles Collins and Casey Ayres. Photograph by Dan McCabe and Andrew Nicholls, c/o Fremantle Arts Centre.
‘The Long Gallery’ featuring works by Casey Ayres, Cherish Marrington and Pilar Mata Dupont, with wall murals by Marek Szyler. Photograph by Miles Noel, c/o Fremantle Arts Centre.
Visible in background are works by Sandra Black and Andrew Nicholls, wall murals by Marek Szyler. Photograph by Dan McCabe, c/o Fremantle Arts Centre.
‘The Banqueting Room’ featuring works by David Charles Collins, Andrew Nicholls, Theo Costantino, Tanija and Graham Carr and Nathan Beard. Photograph by Dan McCabe, c/o Fremantle Arts Centre.
‘The Banqueting Room’ featuring works by Susan Flavell, Sandra Black and Andrew Nicholls. Photograph by Dan McCabe, c/o Fremantle Arts Centre.
Photograph by Dan McCabe, c/o Fremantle Arts Centre.
Photograph by Dan McCabe, c/o Fremantle Arts Centre.
Photograph by Dan McCabe, c/o Fremantle Arts Centre.
Photograph by Dan McCabe, c/o Fremantle Arts Centre.
‘The Opium Den’ featuring works by Cherish Marrington and Abdul Abdullah. Photograph by Miles Noel, c/o Fremantle Arts Centre.
Photograph by Dan McCabe, c/o Fremantle Arts Centre.
Visible in background are works by Casey Ayres, Pilar Mata Dupont, and Cherish Marrington, with wall murals by Marek Szyler. Photograph by Andrew Nicholls, c/o Fremantle Arts Centre.
The Chung Wah Chinese Orchestra performing in ‘The Banqueting Room’ at the launch event for A Gentle Misinterpretation. Visible are works by Andrew Nicholls, Theo Costantino, Tanija and Graham Carr, Nathan Beard and Andrew Nicholls featuring HIP Company with Teresa Tan, with wall murals by Marek Szyler. Photograph by Miles Noel, c/o Fremantle Arts Centre.