The distance from Norway to China is 6887 km, a distance far enough to build curiosity and mystery. It is also a far distance easy to develop cultural misunderstanding and ideological prejudice. When people are curious about another culture, they ask questions. Those questions are often very inspiring and give a different perspective to see culture. Some questions concerning Chinese food culture are funny and interesting. For example: Do Chinese people eat dog meat or chicken feet? Does Tofu have a taste? Grown-up in China and having experience living in different European cities helps Juan Qin understand and respect cultures from both Eastern China and Western European worlds. Surface in-terminates intention and I am interested in these intentions. Juan see herself as a bridge to connect two very different cultures, and would like to use this intention to challenge the process of design creation and push the boundary of graphic design and content display.

Wizard and Juan Qin is a new collaboration between three friends who are young entrepreneurs, designers, and artists. They gathered together to celebrate two very different cultures by using the power of art, design, and fashion.

About exhibitors
Juan Qin is a designer, visual artist, and live visual performer from a small city which is located southern part of China. She use to live in Beijing, Berlin, Rotterdam, Amsterdam, and Helsinki. Now she lives in Bergen in Norway and works at Haltenbanken.

Wizard Co is a Norwegian streetwear brand, established in 2013, with roots in the skiing and snowboarding community in Norway. They are about culture, adventure, and friendship.

- Growing up in China and having experience working, living, and studying in different European cities helped me have a better understanding of culture from both the Eastern and Western worlds. I see all these experiences as a gift that helps me build a better understanding of my own identity and culture. This experience makes me become a happy, open-minded, and more tolerant person. Says Juan Qin.

- This project provides us with a unique opportunity to showcase a modern interpretation of traditional and authentic Chinese history. It’s a collaboration spanning across time and culture. Wizard has done a lot of work previously with Western and Norwegian pop culture, which makes this a new and interesting piece when combined with Juan Qin’s personal experience and artistic abilities.

Hopefully, we can use this project to make the audience get a deeper understanding of a culture that’s very different from the one we live in, but also express how cultural integration behaves differently across the world in our current day and age, compared to how it once used to be.

By combining the wonderful aesthetics from China, and modern printing and production techniques, we are able to communicate the works in a profound way, which to me personally is really fun.” Says Simen Kongsvik, founder of Wizard Company.

Special thanks to the generous sponsorship from Haltenbanken, and the printing support from Pamflett Bergen.

Exhibition opening will be at Friday 13th of January at 18:00. 

Program for the opening: 
18:00-18:30 Mingling and walking around 
18:30-19:00 Welcome talk and intro by Liz Ramsey. Present Wizard, Juan Qin, and Haltenbanken . 
19:00-20:00 Round dining table, eat, chat. 
19:20: Wonton buffet, and visitors can mingle around and check the exhibition. 
20:00-21:00: Mingling and walking around.

Exhibition period
Friday 13th of January - Sunday 5th of February

Opening hours
Monday - Friday: 10.00 - 16.00
Sundays: 12.00 - 16.00

Adress
Grafill
Møllergata 39, 0179 Oslo