LOOKING FORWARD TO IT

Chinatown Soup is pleased to present looking forward to it, an exhibition by resident artist Sophia Meng, featuring works on paper and mixed-media ritual objects on view October 3-15, 2023. Join us for the opening reception on Thursday, October 5th, from 6-8 pm.

A centerpiece altar is encircled by divination portals, each paying homage to distinct Chinese fortune-telling rituals from various historical periods. Included are references to oracle bones (Shang Dynasty), casting with yarrow stalks and coins (Zhou Dynasty), and numerological Ba-Zi reading (Han Dynasty). Considered together, these practices reveal a progression of human interactions with natural elements and the beyond, motivated by the desire to communicate and understand.

The structure is crafted with paper mache as zhizha, resembling a traditional Chinese technique used to create funeral offerings meant for burning and sending to the afterlife. Paper's inherent fragility, while allowing for malleability, mirrors our own transformative journey from this incarnation to the next. It's a creation meant to be destroyed, facilitating a connection with the intangible.

While we are grounded in this world, we may ponder the interplay of materiality and spirituality. What deeply held beliefs influence our present actions? What spirits do we seek to invoke or honor?

Divination emerges as a profound response to these inquiries, offering us a glimpse into potential futures firmly rooted in the now. Naming a possibility is akin to casting a line into uncharted waters, drawing forth desires that were previously unexplored, overlooked, or avoided. Understanding these potential outcomes can inspire us to pursue clear paths and engage the truth, or the death of the belief that our motivation serves us alone.

Divining can become a catalyst for improving the material conditions of communities.The altar and its elements make reference to revolutionary symbols, actions, and experiments dating to 1920's China and its reverberations. Historically limited to the elite, a circular installation communizes the ancient practice of divination. This configuration invites the viewer to imagine offerings they might contribute to a shared future and how that vision can materialize as inevitable.

In addition, the exhibition showcases six paper drawings. These compositions capture moments from Sophia’s personal memories, each a microcosm of emotions tied to loss, desire, and intimacy. By documenting these emotional landscapes, the artist presents events and sentiments that shape her beliefs, offering them as contributions to the altar.

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Soph(ia) is a queer Chinese American artist interested in the vast and varied expressions of comfort and care. They are interested in parsing cultural references through a revolutionary lens, and use their practice to explore the struggle of contradiction, envision public abundance, and delve into the intricacies of how we relate to each other, ourselves, and personal histories. These subjects are explored through a variety of processes and mediums including installation, textiles, painting, and paper works.