At first glance, this willow-patterned plate may seem familiar, but take a closer look.
Illustrator Victo Ngai’s work puts a technological twist on one of the most iconic art forms in Chinese culture. “I love the idea that the plate can be dismissed as something familiar at first glance, but at a closer look, people will discover all these little out of place objects” Ngai says. The design are drones, robots and neon lights, all hidden in traditional design.
“The blue and white porcelain is a comment on the rise of China as a technological superpower” Ngai explains. “I think an updated blue and white [design] is quite a witty yet subtle way to comment on modern Chinese tech use. It’s a bit like a time capsule, it illustrates the Chinese landscape, architecture and people's lives when the plates were first made. Although many of these landscapes still remain, people's lives have changed drastically due to the technological leap.”
However, the plate wasn’t just intended to celebrate Chinese innovation. “The design the illustration is based on is actually not an original blue and white chinaware but the Willow pattern.”
The Willow pattern was a popular and standardised design created by English ceramic makers in 18th century. “I think there's a subtler underlying meaning here, in which I intended to comment on the view of China through a Western looking glass.” The intricacy of the design took Ngai a week to finish, but the hidden alien objects made it all worth it.
When the image was posted on Instagram, Ngai felt like it gave her a greater understanding of the image. "It's interesting to see what people notice, I feel like these comments gave me a glimpse on my followers' relationship with their tech” she says.
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
