SINOPTICON is a long-term project investigating ideas and themes of a contemporary chinoiserie in contemporary art. The exhibition across museum, gallery and heritage sites in Plymouth, England explores our relationship with China both historically and through contemporary eyes.

‘Chinoiserie’, a French term meaning ‘Chinese-esque’, derived from the 17th century as an entirely European style that was influenced by China and the East. The China that was being emulated was in fact fictitious and very few real images of life in China had reached the west. Instead a Utopian land was described and repeated through the use of decorative motifs and styles. The creation of chinoiserie in the West could be seen as a way of reining in and controlling foreign influences. ‘Sinopticon’ is a construct of ‘Sino’ meaning China and ‘optic’s, meaning ways of seeing. For some of the artists involved in Sinopticon the lure of chinoiserie and the push-pull of its connotations, are manifest in their work. Artists: Suki Chan – Gayle Chong Kwan – Stephanie Douet – Christian Jankowski, Isaac Julien – WESSIELING – Grayson Perry – Ed Pien -  Meekyoung Shin, Karen Tam – Erika Tan – Tsang KinWah – Laura White Through form and decorative narrative in chinoiserie we can discuss value and taste, fantasy, replication and stereotyping of images. So too, the darker elements of chinoiserie’s historical routes; identity politics, racism, trade and production values, authorship and the contested territory of exoticism. This exhibition looks to unpick these themes in a contemporary context to shed light on how pervasive Chinese culture, industry and aesthetics are in our everyday lives. SINOPTICON is now on display in a multi-sited exhibition across the city of Plymouth (until 7 July 2012). Four of the city’s major cultural venues are joining forces to present the work of thirteen contemporary artists.