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8/6/2011

Far From Fong

Gemaal op Zuid, Rotterdam

Fenmei Hu, Khitan, Erwin Kho, Fong-Leng, Kwannie Tang, Zhen Tian and Dada Wang.

South Rotterdam project space Het Gemaal op Zuid presents topical work by young Chinese- Dutch artists. How do these fashion designers, illustrators, artists and designers deal with their cultural background? The legendary fashion designer Fong-Leng was born almost seventy years ago in ‘de Kaap’ (Katendrecht, Rotterdam) to Chinese-Dutch parents. She became world- famous for a spectacular series of coats and dresses in which oriental techniques and motifs were combined into a totally stylish look for the Dutch beau monde at that time. Now, forty years later, a new generation of artists are creating a distinct profile for themselves and, in the spirit of Fong-Leng, are drawing on their cultural roots to sketch a contemporary image of our society.

SUMMER EXHIBITION
In Het Gemaal op Zuid, based around two monumental gowns by Fong-Leng, a podium is offered to six contemporary Chinese-Dutch artists from various disciplines. The exhibition space is designed by interior architect Dada Wang as a mise en scène, a living room setting in which the artists’ works are placed and where Fong-Leng’s dresses function as colourful personages. To accompany the exhibition a number of weekends with activities for the public are being organized, culminating on Friday 1 and Saturday 2 July. Then, Far From Fong joins the China op de Kaap festival with public activities (1-3 July 2011).

THE ARTISTS
The strategy whereby Fong-Leng used traditional motifs in her couture pieces to create a contemporary fashion is echoed in the work of many young Chinese-Dutch artists. Their interest in cultural roots is neither nostalgic nor melancholic; it is aimed at creating a new cross-cultural idiom. Due to our globalized visual culture, Asian motifs have become more commonplace than ever. And because of the economic boom in China, the Asian idiom has become synonymous with progress and innovation. That’s why for Chinese-Dutch artists, looking back often means looking forward. Virtually all of them link their artistic practice to broader networks in the Dutch / Rotterdam-based creative industry, such as Studio Zi and Rotterdam Collective.

Illustrative designer Kwannie Tang works for clients such as Elle Girl, Popunie, Kek Mama. She regularly works together with product designer Niels Lakens. In her illustrations she often depicts the plethora of accessories required to lead a fashionable life. For the exhibition Tang makes a hassock, embroidered with illustrations that refer to her Chinese background. Interior architect Dada Wang came to the Netherlands in 2005 to study at the TU Delft. In Rotterdam, among other things, she is attached to the multidisciplinary designers’ collective Rotterdam Collective. Wang designs the exhibition layout and presents a food installation in which a vegetarian dish in the form of a tangram puzzle is shaped like an animal.

Product designer Zhen Tian presents a number of monumental rice paper ROU lamps in different sizes. The lamps are inspired by the crumpled balls of paper that her father discards when making Chinese ink paintings. The word ‘rou’ has several meanings. One of these is ‘the act of crumpling paper into a ball’, while at the same time it ‘softness’. Tian lives and works in Groningen and is attached to the Chinese artists’ collective Studio Zi.

Fenmei Hu is a visual artist, cultural entrepreneur, exhibition maker and festival organizer. She recently founded Studio Zi – an artists’ collective comprising young creative professionals in the Netherlands with a Chinese background. In the exhibition she presents a number of tea drawings. The large tea stains on the paper function as a sort of Rorschach form: the interpretation depends on the thoughts and ideas of the observer. The stains are made with different kinds of Chinese tea.

Erwin Kho is graphic designer, illustrator and motion-graphics designer, but he also writes graphic novels. He won the Benelux Beeldverhalen Prize in 2010. In a large digital wall-drawing on paper, he draws his view of how the different world cultures influence each other. The oceans separate the continents, but are also perfect waterways. ‘Rafting’ is a term used in biology to denote the washing ashore of seeds and animals, a notion that can equally well be interpreted more broadly as a plea for a mix-and-match culture. Kho also designs the logo for the exhibition.

Khitan (Mao Lin Liao) is an internationally successful Character Artist in the videogame industry. His work is commissioned by a.o. Sony Guerilla Games, Heineken, Mitsubishi. Earlier he worked for the Dutch video artist Micha Klein. Khitan will produce a new work for the exhibition, focusing on the fashion and life of Fong-Leng.

Fong-Leng is fashion artist and fashion icon. She rose to fame with her monumental and extravagant creations in the ‘70s of the previous century. Although her work certainly had an international character, she is credited above all for the fact that she made the Netherlands fashion conscious. The traces of her part-Chinese upbringing are still clearly visible in her work; one of the dresses on display in Het Gemaal op Zuid has the title ‘Chinese zee’ (Chinese sea). Also: fashion pictures by photographer Wendelien Daan of models in Fong-Leng dresses.

EVENTS
Thursday 9 June 2011, 20.00 hrs: Festive opening Far From Fong by Aynouk Tan
Far From Fong will be opened festively with an introduction and interviews by fashion journalist and muse Anyouk Tan. She blogs, tweets and writes for glossies and dailies (including NRC and Volkskrant) about fashion. Music by DJ David Zee and Chinese snacks will be served.

Friday 1 and Saturday 2 July 2011: Public activities as part of China op de Kaap
Het Gemaal op Zuid joins in the celebration of 100 years of Chinese immigration in the Netherlands and offers public activities throughout the weekend.

Editorial note, not for publication: for more information please contact Carolien van Hooijdonk, communication and marketing TENT via com.tent@cbk.rotterdam.nl or +31 (0)10 413 54 98.

Opening: Thursday 9 June, 20hrs

Het Gemaal op Zuid
Pretorialaan 141, 3072 EL Rotterdam Zuid
Wednesday – Saturday, 11 – 17 hrs
Admission is free

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