Candice Lin: The Agnotology of Tigers / Object Guide

CANDICE LIN

the agnotology of tigers

object—guide

Agnotology is defined as the study of deliberate, culturally induced ignorance or doubt, typically to sell a product or win favor, particularly through the publication of inaccurate or misleading scientific data. Candice Lin specifically relates agnotology to the history of indentured Chinese labor, and how that history has been ignored and glossed over.

In La Charada China (Tobacco Version), Lin uses the Cuban-Chinese gambling game of the same name as a diagram to show what materials and commodities were involved during the time of indentured Chinese labor.

The game was played by Chinese laborers in the Caribbean during the 1800s and, Lin speculates, was used to redistribute wealth within the Chinese community. The objects on La Charada China’s table represent some countries and trades that directly benefited from oppressive labor economies through slavery and trade to extract these raw materials.

Others relate to Lin’s practice and previous works, the process of distillation itself integral to Lin’s practice.

Many of these materials may be unfamiliar to the Western eye; looking more closely at the history of these objects and their relationship to indentured Chinese laborers can help to illuminate the full story of Lin’s installation, and reveal long forgotten (or suppressed) aspects of global trade.

la—charada—china Tobacco Version, 2019 cement with casein paint, welded steel table frame, tobacco, ceramics, distillation system (distilling a tincture of tobacco, sugar, tea, indigo, and poppy), poppy pod putty, sugarcane, white sugar, cacao, sage, ackee, oak gall, Anadenanthera, dong quai, California clay, Dominican Republic clay, metal parts, bucket, pumps, tubing, dried indigo, glass slides, bottles, drawings, tile, rubber, wood Courtesy of Candice Lin and François Ghebaly Gallery Image of La Charada China (Tobacco Version) used in this object guide is courtesy of the artist Candice Lin and François Ghebaly Gallery. Photography by Ian Byer-Gamber.

organic—materials

tobacco figure

in distillation liquid

cigar

tobacco leaves

Tobacco is featured in several forms on the table: the pressed tobacco leaf figure, raw tobacco leaves, a cigar, and loose tobacco in the distilling liquid.

It has been a popular crop and trade item since the 16th century, including in Louisiana. A historic tobacco producer is Cuba, which also has a history of using indentured Chinese labor on its tobacco plantations.

organic—materials

sugarcane

in distillation liquid sugarcane

white sugar

Sugarcane continues to be a cash crop in Louisiana and the Caribbean.

Both regions relied on indentured Chinese labor; for America, this laborer became particularly prominent after emancipation, as a way to replace the enslaved labor plantations relied upon.

organic—materials

opium poppy

in distillation liquid

poppy pod putty and opium pipe opium poppy

Opium is derived from the opium poppy and has many uses, including recreational drug use. On the table, opium is represented in its organic, poppy form.

The illicit use of opium has a fraught history with Chinese people, both in China and in the Chinese diaspora of the Caribbean. Opium was distributed to indentured Chinese laborers and planters encouraged its use among their workers as a form of social control.

organic—materials

indigo & tea black tea

in distillation liquid

indigo black tea black tea leaves

Indigo is used to create dyes and was one of Louisiana’s first cash crops. The indigo trade in Louisiana was most certainly entangled with the use of enslaved labor.

Though not as popular in America, tea is an important part of Chinese culture and drinking tea possesses its own set of customs in China. Tea is also integral to traditional Chinese medicine. The drinking and cultivation of tea in China predates the modern era by several thousand years.

organic—materials

plants & herbs Anadenanthera

dried ackee pod

dong quai and other herbs

Ackee is a fruit popular in Caribbean cuisine, but is quite toxic if consumed unripe, hinting at Lin’s interest in plants that both heal and harm. Anadenanthera is a South American tree, the pods of which are used to produce hallucinogenic snuffs. Dong Quai is indigenous to China and is widely used in traditional Chinese medicine used to treat menstruation and menopause symptoms.

Lin’s various tinctures on the table, as well as the central distilling liquid, combine these plants and herbs with others to further indicate cultures, geographical regions, cash crops, and enslaved and indentured labor.

organic—materials

objects—paper

ceramics STP ceramic

California & Dominican clay Dominican clay

cat ceramic

ceramic vessel

ceramic funnel

ceramic filter

STP ceramic ceramic object

Ceramics are central to Lin’s practice. Many of the ceramic objects on the table point to other moments in Lin’s career, such as the female stand-to-pee (STP) devices used in her Hard White Body project and ceramic meat mallets.

objects—paper

ceramics STP ceramic

California & Dominican clay Dominican clay

ceramic vessel

ceramic mallet

ceramic funnel ceramic filter

ceramic mallet

STP ceramic ceramic vase

The chunks of natural clay were harvested by Lin in California and the Dominican Republic, another landscape which she has investigated in relation to indentured Chinese labor.

objects—paper

drawings drawing

drawing

Cats are featured in both of Lin’s small drawings on the table.

Cats are prominent in Chinese culture and present a foil to rats, a widely despised animal in Chinese culture.

objects—paper

book for Maklakla

book

Go to the next page to begin reading the book for Maklakla written by Candice Lin.

objects—paper

book for Maklakla—1

book for Maklakla—2

book for Maklakla—3

book for Maklakla—4

book for Maklakla—5

book for Maklakla—6

book for Maklakla—7

book for Maklakla—8

Candice Lin is an interdisciplinary artist who works with installation, drawing, video, and living materials and processes, such as mold, mushrooms, bacteria, fermentation, and stains. She addresses themes of race, gender, and sexuality in relationship to material histories of colonialism, slavery, and diaspora. She currently is Assistant Professor of Art at UCLA and lives and works in Los Angeles, California.

Research for this object guide provided by Clarke Brown, LSU Museum of Art Curatorial Fellow, and Olivia Peltier, LSU Museum of Art Registrar.

Candice Lin: The Agnotology of Tigers on view at the LSU Museum of Art from October 20, 2021 to March 20, 2022 This exhibition is part of an annual collaboration featuring an LSU School of Art visiting artist. This exhibition is a collaboration between the LSU College of Art & Design, the LSU School of Art, and the LSU Museum of Art. Support is provided by The Winifred and Kevin P. Reilly Jr. Fund and generous donors to the Annual Exhibition Fund. Supported by a grant from the Louisiana Division of the Arts, Office of Cultural Development, Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism, in cooperation with the Louisiana State Arts Council, as administered by the Arts Council of Greater Baton Rouge. Funding has also been provided by the National Endowment of the Arts.