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Opening Foam 3h: Benjamin Li In Search of Perfect Orange

Foam 3h presents In Search of Perfect Orange, a playful exhibition by Rotterdam-based conceptual artist Benjamin Li. The exhibition will be opened on Thursday 29 August and includes a Q&A between the artist and Foam curator Aya Musa. 

You are welcome at the Foam Café from 17.30 - 21.00 hrs for this official event with free admission to the museum.

About the exhibition

The exhibition setup takes inspiration from the 'Chinese-Indisch' restaurant, a culinary genre partially shaped by the colonial history of the Netherlands. Through his work, Li explores themes like identity, belonging, labour and cultural heritage, using food as a lens through which to delve into these complex subjects.

Since 2014, Li has visited over 1,000 'Chinese-Indisch' restaurants across the Netherlands, creating an archive of menus, tableware, and personal stories. Through photography, video, sculptures, and puzzles featuring images of 'Chinese-Indisch' dishes, he explores the richness, variety and charm of these restaurants. However, for Li the restaurants represent more than just culinary enjoyment; they symbolize his family's resilience and a broader journey towards integration for the Asian diaspora within Dutch society. Many of his relatives, including his parents, have worked in restaurants to build a life in their new homeland. Through his art, Li honors these establishments, though often misunderstood, highlighting their cultural and historical significance. In doing so, his work challenges stereotypes and prejudices faced by Asians in the Netherlands, focusing on identity, representation, displacement, foodways and a sense of home.

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Untitled work from the family archive © photographer unknown / courtesy of the artist.

The exhibition is made possible by DLA Piper, the Van Bijlevelt Foundation, Mondriaan Fund, Kleurgamma and Oschatz Visuelle Medien.


sculptures carved from carrots on a plate

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Opening Foam 3h: Benjamin Li In Search of Perfect Orange