Takeaway inspired art comes to the British Museum's refurbished gallery

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Description

The takeaways that line Seven Sisters Road are the unlikely inspiration for some of the exhibits going on show at the British Museum’s newly-refurbished Japanese Galleries.

Japanese-born potter Hitomi Hosono has crafted eight porcelain versions of food, including fish and chips and a kebab, that she found being sold near her Finsbury Park studio.

 

Curator Nicole Rousmaniere said the work, in the style of Japanese Manga cartoons, told the story of how a magical “bit of porcelain from her hometown, which is like the Japanese Stoke-on-Trent, ends up in Seven Sisters Road and takes on the shapes of foods”.

 

The galleries also feature more work by Hosono, including an elaborate bowl covered with 1,000 handmade leaves that were individually attached using chopsticks.

 
Five of the most fascinating objects you'll find in the British Museum

Other exhibits in the Mitsubishi Corporation Galleries, which open to the public on Thursday, include flame cooking pots and a set of Samurai armour from around 3,000BC.

Ms Rousmaniere said: “The galleries show the art of Japan from past to present. There is an incredible attention to detail and lots of different types of exhibits, but there is a unifying force between them.”

The galleries are among the most popular in the museum and have had about five million visitors over the past decade with sell-out shows including the exhibition dedicated to legendary Japanese artist Hokusai.

Period25 Sep 2018

Media coverage

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Media coverage

  • TitleTakeaway-inspired art comes to the British Museum's refurbished Japanese galleries
    Degree of recognitionInternational
    Media name/outletThe Evening Standard
    Media typeWeb
    Date25/09/18
    DescriptionA review of the British Museum's refurbished Japanese galleries by Robert Dex for the Evening Standard (on-line)
    Producer/AuthorRobert Dex
    PersonsNicole Rousmaniere