Stedelijk Museum: When Things Are Beings,
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Photo by Augustina Cai
The inspiration for this work was a silver betel set featuring a Chinese
motif from the Indonesian island of Java. The set is part of the
collection of the Dutch National Museum of World Cultures (NMVW).
Wei Yang re-appropriated the form of the betel case and enlarged it.
Betel nut chewing, which has a mild stimulant effect, is a widespread custom in Southeast Asia
and other regions of the world. The silver containers in a betel set hold the ingredients used to
make so-called betel quids. These sets traditionally played a role in rituals, and were kept at
special places in the home for protection against malevolent spirits. Yang’s work refers to the
specific subculture of the Peranakan Chinese, descendants of Chinese traders from the southern
provinces of China who migrated to the Indonesian archipelago. When Peranakan Chinese
artisans started using their own techniques to modify the Javanese silver holders, the objects
came to symbolize cultural assimilation in the colonial society.
Yang used domestic, low-cost materials to build the structure which then using papier-maché
mixed with materials from Amsterdam’s Asian supermarkets, embracing the betel case /
melting pot in a new transcultural skin and a queer motif based on The Eight Immortals, a
group of immortals ( 仙, Xian) from Chinese Taoist mythology.
Concept: Amanda Pinatih and Britte Sloothaak (eds)
Contributors: Mira Asriningtyas, Jasmijn Mol, Amanda Pinatih, and Britte
Sloothaak
about the show
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暗八仙
125 × 99.5 × 51cm 2022
纸黏土，金属，卡纸
Stedelijk Museum: When Things Are Beings
Curated by Amanda Pinatih and Britte Sloothaak
Covert Eight Immortals ‘An Ba Xian’
Sculpture made of paper mache, metal, cardboard
Photo: Gert-Jan van Rooij
Covert Eight Immortals ‘An Ba Xian’ (details)
Photo: Nina Schollaardt