Yellow Faces Brooches
Collection:CSM Museum & Study Collection
Date: 2015
Engraver: Si Xing Season Cheng;鄭思行
Medium: Gilding metal pin holder, printed satin ribbon, leather, plater copper
Object number: J.2015.871.CC.1-3
DescriptionSet of three brooches by Si Xing Cheng
The media is infested with labelling and stereotyping, I would like to pinpoint how absurd, and sometimes hilarious the labels are and to invoke how it feels when a non-targeted person falls into these stereotypes.
As I cannot represent all cultures, I would like to create a collection mainly focusing on my own background. I found the phrase “Made in China” very powerful in terms of modern Chinese stereotypes. For instance, it always relates to cheap labour, bad quality, and mass production, which contradicts luxury jewellery. Thus, I adopted the phrase to be my project title. In order to visualise the labelling element along with the hint of mass production, I have decided to imitate clothing labels and designer’s bag logos to intensify its sarcasm. These elements would be made into brooches and pins, altering the wearer’s identity in the simplest way.
Throughout the designing of the labels, I tried to sustain a tone of humour, to lighten the subject, to be cynical but still entertaining to depict the idea. Most of the stereotypes mentioned in my work are the most common ones that I have encountered personally. I have also looked at a lot of recent media work in popular cultures and handed out surveys to collect more thoughts. The whole collection aimed to make people think, but was subtle enough to lead to an open-ended answer.
The media is infested with labelling and stereotyping, I would like to pinpoint how absurd, and sometimes hilarious the labels are and to invoke how it feels when a non-targeted person falls into these stereotypes.
As I cannot represent all cultures, I would like to create a collection mainly focusing on my own background. I found the phrase “Made in China” very powerful in terms of modern Chinese stereotypes. For instance, it always relates to cheap labour, bad quality, and mass production, which contradicts luxury jewellery. Thus, I adopted the phrase to be my project title. In order to visualise the labelling element along with the hint of mass production, I have decided to imitate clothing labels and designer’s bag logos to intensify its sarcasm. These elements would be made into brooches and pins, altering the wearer’s identity in the simplest way.
Throughout the designing of the labels, I tried to sustain a tone of humour, to lighten the subject, to be cynical but still entertaining to depict the idea. Most of the stereotypes mentioned in my work are the most common ones that I have encountered personally. I have also looked at a lot of recent media work in popular cultures and handed out surveys to collect more thoughts. The whole collection aimed to make people think, but was subtle enough to lead to an open-ended answer.
