Shellie Zhang: Accent
to
The New Gallery 208 Centre Street SE, Calgary, Alberta T2G 2B6
Shellie Zhang, "A Visual History of MSG Marketing," 2016 – 2017
Exhibition Description
Visceral and often communal, food is one of the most accessible ways to engage with a culture. Through its consumption, creation and interpretation, food possesses the unique capability to extend beyond itself corporeal restrictions to reflect individual and shared stories, as well as historical and political climates. Combining a history of product marketing alongside archival materials from the Toronto Star, "Accent" presents a case study of the nuanced and racialized undertones within the everyday.
In 1968, the New England Journal of Medicine published a letter to the editor from one reader describing radiating pain in his arms, weakness and heart palpitations after eating at Chinese restaurants. The reader mused that a combination of cooking wine, monosodium glutamate (MSG) or excessive sodium might have spurred these reactions. Reader responses poured in with similar complaints, and scientists jumped to research the phenomenon, centering on the glutamic salt, MSG. Not long after, the "Chinese Restaurant Syndrome" was born.
When first introduced, MSG was not the antagonized evil that it is often known as today. MSG was commonly used in North America, often marketed under the brand "Accent" and recommended as another shaker in addition to salt and pepper. As more paranoia came to surround MSG, Western attitudes shifted, assigning the negative connotations of MSG solely on Chinese cuisine. To this day, despite its widespread usage, it is frequently only Chinese and East-Asian restaurants that are forced to attest that they do not use the seasoning.
Biography
Shellie Zhang (b. 1991, Beijing, China) is a multidisciplinary artist based in Tkaronto/Toronto, Canada. She has exhibited at venues including WORKJAM (Beijing), Asian Art Initiative (Philadelphia) and Gallery 44 (Toronto). She is a recipient of grants such as the RBC Museum Emerging Professional Grant, the Toronto Arts Council's Visual Projects grant, and the Canada Council's Project Grant to Visual Artists. Recent projects include a residency at the Art Gallery of Ontario, the Creative Time Summit, and publication with the Art Gallery of York University (AGYU).
By uniting both past and present iconography with the techniques of mass communication, language and sign, Zhang's work deconstructs notions of tradition, gender, identity, the diaspora, and popular culture while calling attention to these subjects in the context and construction of a multicultural society. She is interested in exploring how integration, diversity and assimilation is implemented and negotiated, how this relates to lived experiences, and how culture is learned and relearned.