Neja Tomšič
Artist book
2018
opium clippers
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Artist Book
Publisher: Rostfrei Publishing
Extent: 40 spreads
Dimensions: 200x270 mm
Box dimensions: 245 x 310 x 35 mm
Edition: 200
Publisher: Rostfrei Publishing
Extent: 40 spreads
Dimensions: 200x270 mm
Box dimensions: 245 x 310 x 35 mm
Edition: 200
“The artist book Opium Clippers is based on the series of homonymous tea ceremonies. In the second half of the 18th and beginning of 19 thcenturies the tea and opium trade was one of the most lucrative businesses in the world and was, at the time, completely controlled by the great European colonial powers and private corporations enjoying state protection.
The book Opium Clippers is acombination of images and texts through which the artist narrates stories based on documents while, at the same time, consciously transitioning from the factual to the symbolic level of this issue. The tea and opium trade refer to a past time when notions of politics, class, gender, religion and culture as we know them now were being (trans)formed. It also refers to the present time, however, as this enormous industry is still at the heart of many economic and military superpowers, whose roots can be traced to tea and opium trade. Numerous successful financial, trade or transport companies still active today were established in the period of the tea and opium trade, often as a result of it. Basedon short-term planning and quick profits, the tea and opium trade had profound consequences on many societies around the globe.” (Miha Colner)
Selected press:
Koordinate spomina, Pia Prezelj (si)
Publisher: Rostfrei Publishing