‘Cola Project’ investigates material transformation, the products of global capitalism and the impact that its images have upon human culture.
In 2008, He Xiangyu worked with factory workers to boil up thousands of litres of cola soft drink for the period of a year. This ubiquitous material was slowly transformed into a syrupy, black sludge and finally into lumps of gleaming coal-like crystals. These crystals were then turned into ink, which the artist has used to create Song dynasty style ink paintings, in the age-old manner of artists reproducing the landscape and sentiment of master paintings.
4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art
March 16 to May 5, 2012
He Xiangyu, Cola Project, 2009, production image.
Courtesy the artist and Whitespace, Beijing, China.
