这是结合了美国，日本，以及韩国的当地“中餐”的一本虚拟餐厅菜单，借此讨论中餐在海外异化的现象以及中餐这一概念的边界。
《某家中餐厅的菜单》的原书由刘炳阳制作于2018年，2020年遗失于英国，此次再版基于原书数字档案以及原书翻书记录。在书中，他通过翻拍食品的产品包装，宣传图片，甚至是视频广告，选取了11个在美国，日本以及韩国被当地人广泛认知为“中餐”的食物，并将这些“中餐”食物的在相对语言中的名称拆解再组合成了一段难以阅读的带有异域文化色彩的密码。在书中的最后所呈现的第12种食物是必胜客在中国地区推出的中餐披萨饼广告，艺术家以此来质疑中餐的定义与划分。另外书中还穿插了在网络搜索引擎上找到的美国画家爱德华·霍玻 （Edward Hopper）绘制的 ”Chop Suey“，在这张可以被直译为”炒杂碎“的油画里描绘了20世纪初美国中餐厅的景象，但在电脑压缩以及图像色彩等诸多因素下，这张画作通过搜索引擎呈现出多种版本。艺术家通过将中餐食物图片与不同版本的Edward Hopper的 “Chop Suey”网络截图并列，来类比文化在传播过程中出现的翻译与异化。
*本期随刊产品是一块印有各式“中餐”的防水厚缎桌布。
This is a virtual restaurant menu that combines the local 'Chinese food' from the United States, Japan, and South Korea, using it as a platform to discuss the phenomenon of the transformation of Chinese cuisine abroad and the boundaries of the concept of 'Chinese food.'
The original book, 'A Menu from a Certain Chinese Restaurant,' was created by Bingyang Liu in 2018 and was lost in the UK in 2020. This reissue is based on the digital archives of the original book and the records of flipping through the original. In the book, Liu selected 11 food items widely recognized as 'Chinese food' by locals in the United States, Japan, and South Korea. He documented these through photographs of product packaging, promotional images, and even video advertisements. These 'Chinese food' items were then deconstructed and reassembled in their respective languages, forming a cryptic text imbued with an exotic cultural essence. The 12th food item presented at the end of the book is an advertisement for a Chinese cuisine-inspired pizza launched by Pizza Hut in China, with which the artist questions the definitions and boundaries of Chinese food. Interspersed throughout the book are various versions of the painting 'Chop Suey' by American artist Edward Hopper, found via search engines. This painting, which can be directly translated as 'stir-fried mixed pieces,' depicts a scene from an early 20th-century American Chinese restaurant. Due to computer compression and various factors affecting color representation, multiple versions of this artwork appear in search engine results. The artist juxtaposes images of Chinese food with different online screenshots of Edward Hopper's 'Chop Suey,' drawing parallels between the translations and transformations that cultures undergo during dissemination. The special product accompanying this issue is a waterproof thick satin tablecloth printed with various 'Chinese foods'.
about EggPlant鹅卵茄
在对 “eggplant“ 英文一词的凝视中，我们意识到茄子的命名可能是由一颗形似鹅蛋的白茄子而来，这个单词成型背后包含了类型学，造词现象，图像翻译等可发散讨论的方向。受此启发，我们将EggPlant译为鹅卵茄。鹅卵茄旨在发现艺术家和个人，共同探索艺术和商品之间的缝隙的可能性。
Staring at the term “eggplant” , we realized its name likely got from a white oval aubergine in 19 century. The structure of the term could extend to a discussion of typology, phenomenon of coinage and image translation, and so on. Inspired by this mishmash experience, EggPlant aims to collaborate with artists and creative individuals to explore the possibility of the niche between art and merchandise.
about TISSUE ISSUE
TISSUE ISSUE是鹅卵茄EggPlant于2022年创办的期刊zine项目。TISSUE ISSUE字面翻译为纸巾问题，也可以是薄纸杂志。是一本⻚数不确定，关注点发散，定期更新的爱好者杂志，为艺术爱好者们提供出版物与产品之间的对话。
TISSUE ISSUE is a periodical zine project founded by EggPlant in 2022. Each issue focus on omnivorous subjects, in the form of flexible pages, to create the conversation between publication and product for artist and amateur.
