| The Collector’s Landscape - Pamela So |
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| Culture | |
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“At the turn of the century, my grandmother travelled on foot from Hubei province in central China to Europe with a group of young people, who earned their living by performing acrobatics and making paper flowers on the way. Arriving in Britain, this group of travellers adopted a more settled way of life and by the time my mother was born in Liverpool in the 1920s, my grandmother was running a laundry business from the family home.
In 1935, my father sailed first class on a P&O liner from Hong Kong to Britain. His destination was Scotland and he was to study medicine in Glasgow. In 1953 there were only three Chinese families in Glasgow. One of these families was mine and my mother’s brother and sister formed the other two. Because there were no Chinese people, shops or restaurants in the Glasgow of my childhood, I became assimilated into Scottish culture in a way that is hard for both Chinese and Scottish people to understand now. I lost my Chinese language but not the essentials of Chinese culture – its food, design and traditions that have formed the basis of my artwork. My distinctive Scottish/Chinese identity forms the basis of my work.” Pamela So’s first solo exhibition at the Collins Gallery is a culmination of ideas developed over the past five years, inspired by her own heritage, 19th century trade between Britain and China and the integration of Chinese food, art, design and horticulture into the British culture and landscape. “The Collector’s Landscape” comprising photography, film and an installation of 3D work and intricate paper works, is supported by a publication on the artist compiled in collaboration with the Crawford Arts Centre, St Andrews with funding from the Scottish Arts Council. The Collector’s Landscape Collins Gallery 22 Richmond Street, Glasgow Tel: 0141 548 2558 |
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