Package deals from the mainland
Most of us leave collecting behind in childhood. We stash the stamps, the bottletops, the cigarette cards somewhere in a cupboard where they gather mould until someone in the household bins them. Occasionally, you come across someone who has never lost the enthusiasm and even taken the hobby to new heights. Meeting Christian Rommel, the curator of a superb new exhibition at the Goethe-Institut, can make you hanker for lost youth.
His collection, China Packaging, is more than the mad obsession of a German who not very coincidentally happens to be in the industry. Ten years ago, travelling the Karakoram Highway, he took home a few exotic souvenirs, little boxes and bottles, the sort of thing most of us never even notice.
'You just think that's cute, cheap, small, easy to take away. I liked the funny characters and pictures,' he said. 'On the highway, people are usually looking at mountains and scenery, not cigarette packets and toilet rolls. But there was such style - the technology, the material, the motifs, the colours were all so interesting. It became a sickness!' Rommel is a passionate persuader, a man to make you look twice at details. 'These are everyday items you find in shops, open markets and kiosks. They may not seem that spectacular, but if you see them all together you see there is a typically Chinese way of doing them.' Some go unnoticed, others are exquisite. Red-and-gold silk brocade boxes hold ginseng. Expensive at about 100 yuan (HK$94), they are beyond the reach of most mainlanders. White ceramic bottles containing alcohol are embellished with delicate paintings of bamboo and cherry blossom. Dried vegetables were stored in boxes stamped with gold seals, a proud proclamation of awards for excellence to share with the world. Coconut cookies were stored in blue silk boxes embellished with gold trim and pictures of bridges, pagodas, calligraphy - typical mainland scenery.
The exhibition is much more than a unique document of contemporary packaging in China. It is a look behind the scenes, a portrayal of the lifestyle and mentality of a whole nation, great fun.
'In the Western world, packages are designed by graphic designers who are into fonts, colours, topography,' says Rommel. 'Chinese packaging has personality, a style. They reflect the hopes, dreams and illusions of the people and the country. These packages are about the heritage of people so proud of their country they want to express it even on ordinary items.' Rommel's passion took him all over the mainland from Tibet, Yunnan, Heilongjiang near the Russian border to Xinjiang, over about 15 different trips. 'Whenever I went, I wanted to find something from that area. You don't just go into a supermarket. And you have to get rid of a lot of the contents because they rot. Whenever I opened my suitcase, there'd be this incredible aroma of traditional medicine, dried fruit, tobacco, fish products. I carried around a cloud, a distinct aroma. People looked at me a lot.' Rommel is attempting to preserve a typical Chinese art, items mainly from the 1970s on. 'Last year, I found out a lot of these items are not on the market anymore. China is now looking to the West for designs. They throw overboard their motifs, their tradition, mythology and history.' You can see a great deal in a mustard sauce bottle, it turns out, especially if it's decorated with borders, flowers, sailing ships and scrolls. 'You see which province is wealthier, how remote it is, its marketing methods, quality of art, advertising, how open-minded they are. The art has a significance.' The value of a package can sometimes be in the package itself. Some are plain, perhaps holding treasures within, some are things of beauty. Twenty tiny ceramic bottles of pearl powder nestle in a silk box. Soap packets are decorated with American pin-ups from the 1950s, noodle packets with the god of longevity. Ceramic liquor bottles from Beijing are hand-painted with flowers, bamboo and cherry blossoms.
'Mainlanders still don't travel much, which we forget. When they do, it's still the custom to take something back. A lot of the items in the exhibition aren't distributed throughout the country, so they are indications you are a traveller. China is especially strong at regional products.' Variety, colour and effort makes this more than just a load of recyclable waste. 'Sometimes entire village communities make a living from producing this stuff. So they are proud of forms and patterns. But their best is mainly for export or gifts in friendship stores. The people in these remote areas can't afford them.' If ever an exhibition was likely to do something for the environment, this is it. This is a collection to make you stop throwing things away without looking.