Coca-Cola in process of materialisation: a new materialist perspective on He Xiangyu’s Cola Project

Abstract

This paper adopts a new materialist lens to analyze how He Xiangyu's Cola Project (2008–2012) enacts its discursive materialities. It focuses on one of the installation pieces A Barrel of Dregs of Coca-Cola (2009), which features an earthy, bitumen-like black crystalline residue, created by the artist and a number of workers by boiling down thousands of liters of Coca-Cola for a year. Existing studies primarily examine the work through symbolic and metaphorical readings that interpret the work as a critique of Western culture and consumerism's influence on China, and regard the artist as the sole protagonist of the production and meaning-making of the piece. This study focuses on the underexplored power of collective labor engagements with materials; on the materialities of the artwork; and on the artwork's potential to evoke broader critical responses. Building upon new materialist, including of Karen Barad and Amelia Jones, this paper understands the materialities of He's work in terms of material-discursive phenomena that are formed through continuous entanglements between the artist, workers, and the Coca-Cola substance. By examining the labor-intensive process manifested in the artwork's traces or marks, this study highlights how discursive materialities enacted during production processes can generate new spaces for meaning.

Keywords:

• materiality
• new materialism
• contemporary Chinese art
• collective labour
• process
• performativity
• embodied experience

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Correction Statement

This article has been corrected with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Notes

1 Versions of Cola Project include forms, sculptures, or installations of an earthy, bitumen-like black crystalline residue piling up in mountain-like shapes, either placed within a rectangular transparent glass such as A Barrel of Dregs of Coca-Cola (2009) and Extraction (2009–2010), or directly placed on the exhibition floor without the container, such as in Cola Project Resin (2009–2010) and Coca-Cola Project (2009). Another version is in the form of painting, including works such as Antique Series 12 (2010) and Antique Series (2011).

2 The enormous quantity may sound excessive for people unfamiliar with local conditions of consumption from a statistical perspective. Yet when considering the actual population in Dandong and the demographic (mainly young and middle-aged people) who often consume Coca-Cola, 127 tons suggests a moderate everyday Coke consumption. Dandong population data cited from (https://population.gotohui.com/pdata-220/2009), accessed November 8, 2022.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Yiran Chen

Yiran Chen is a PhD candidate at the Department of History of Art, University of York. Her research focuses on the materialities of Contemporary Chinese Art.