The New China

“Starting in 2009, I made several trips to China where I noticed the absence of consumer objects possessing immediate regional authenticity. I found cigarette packaging with its shiny foil and indigenous lettering to be the one consumer opportunity with distinct and potent local provenance. These assemblages give vivid but short description to my Chinese experience and testify to the crisis of authenticity that plagues China’s consumer realm.” –Douglas Coupland

As a writer and visual artist, Coupland has often disregarded the traditional divide between these disciplines. Using letters, words and books as material and content for his art, Coupland harnesses the power of language in the visual realm.