School of Art, Media and Design, UWE Bristol:
Angie Butler
China Cabinet
4th September - 30th October 2009
A site-specific piece made for a wooden cabinet, sited in a corridor of the Print Centre at UWE as an installation for Impact Multi-disciplinary printmaking Conference 16-19 September 2009.
When given the opportunity to create a work in response to this piece of simple furniture, I wanted to change how the cabinet itself was seen, & make it integral to the artist’s book held within ‘China Cabinet’, reflects the notion of a piece of furniture that was traditionally made for the display & storage of a collection of fine chinaware. The text has been taken literally in this work; & the contents (shown in two volumes) are cups & saucers, which depict traditional Chinese scenes & elements, specifically made for the European market in the late 18-early 19th century. Displayed in two parts, one on each shelf (of the cabinet), the front & back of each book can be viewed simultaneously, as the back of the concertina is seen reflected in a mirrored panel secured at the rear of the cabinet.
Accompanying the images of china are four panels of text (translated from the Chinese) that introduce & document the, Three Elements For Making A Good Cup Of Tea: a process, being part of a social & personal ritual, which takes time to honour oneself & ones’ guests. The appearance & contents of the book is both/neither Eastern &/or Western, purposefully reflecting a joined history & importance of imagery, ritual, occasion & tea-making.
‘China Cabinet’ - Angie Butler, 2009.
A two-volume artist’s book (edition of 2).
18 cm x 20.5 cm (closed) double concertina opens to 115cm approx.
Digitally printed on 225gsm Somerset Velvet Paper.
Hand foiled in gold & bound in Pink Dupion Silk with Chiyogami endpapers.
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