Arts     

China-UK cultural exchange comes to an end

China.org.cn, January 20, 2016

• Chinese and international artists came together on the banks of London's River Thames on Jan. 15, 2015 to mark the end of the Chinese-UK Cultural Exchange year.

  Teapots by Xiao Ge at London Bride. [Photo by Rory Howard / China.org.cn]

  
  
  

  Throughout 2015, China and the UK joined together to enter what many have called a 'Golden Era', not only in the realm of politics and economics but also in the realm of arts and innovation. The Ministry of Culture of the People's Republic of China and Phoenix Art—a Chinese news company--together officially concluded the exchange year with a special celebratory art installation in London's Potters Field park.

  With "Inclusive" as the theme, the organizers marked the end of this special year with an installation work that showed an age-old link that China and the UK both share: tea.

  Two large teapots were assembled, one with a Chinese motif, the other with an English motif, their spouts joined together to signify the bridging together of these two peoples and nations; one the origin of tea, the other with a well-noted fondness for the drink.

  Curator and artist Xiao Ge mentioned that, in English, the word "China" is homophonous and contains within that one word both the nation and the traditional material of teacups and pots. According to Xiao, these bridging teapots "give…another signification, making this inclusive and bridging teapot an ideal image to celebrate the China-UK Year of Cultural Exchange."

  Artists from China, Finland, and the UK showed off their arts around the teapot installation. Among the artists present were stalwarts of the Chinese international contemporary art scene, such as Xin Jianjun, Xiao Lu, Sheng Qi, and Leng Bingchuan.

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