Fine China

Paul Petro Contemporary Art is pleased to present several iterations of Ho Tam's Fine China project spanning more than twenty years.

Fine China is an exploration of China's past and present with a different take on issues within and outside a country of growing influence in the present day, with a collection of 24 photographs based on re-designed porcelains ( fine china ) with banal and iconic / ironic images. It is a search for China's identity in the new millennium. The video Fine China (2000, running time 8:33) transcribes a collection of found and original footage into a display of the original 22 re-designed porcelains that form the basis for the photographs, including images of panda bears, Jackie Chan, Mao and MacDonald's. In a way, the video is a search for China's identity in the new millennium. Retracing personal and collective memories, Fine China provides an alternative perspective for an aging civilization as it re-invents itself into a possible super power of the future. The photographs capture these images from the video and include newer images such as the corona virus to further reflect the current moment. The photographs are also gathered into Hotam Press publications: Fine China (the magazine, 2014) and Fine China (the newspaper, 2023).

This exhibition is a feature co-presentation with the CONTACT Photography Festival.