International Artist Residency, Kunming, China

Awarded this international fellowship in China by the Arts Council and Triangle Arts Trust, Marce used her existing research interests in the conjunction of aesthetic systems, games and social systems to explore the possibilities of cross-cultural exchange. This involved traveling to Kunming, China and the particular experience of learning about Chinese culture and interacting with Chinese artists enriched the possibilities of subject, support and materials she used in her paintings.

After examining the context and effect of games in Chinese popular culture, and discussing her ideas with Chinese artists, Marce started to introduce some Chinese games into the methodological scheme of her work. She also employed different supports and new colours, such as gold, and materials, such as silk, in order to change the physicality of the artwort. Marce also used origami techniques to produce works on paper. Through the use of elements of Chinese popular culture in the form of games, Marce was able to allow particular ‘foreign’ cultural elements to direct the methods and outcomes of her paintings. This raises both the general question of how cultural exchange and influence can be manifest in an artwork, and the specific histories of ‘Orientalism’.

The outcomes of this project were shown in Upriver Gallery, Kunming, China; other work developed through this research was also shown in the solo show ‘Playroom’ at Riflemaker Gallery, London. Work was acquired from this exhibition by the Saatchi Collection. Other paintings were shown in the two group shows ‘Colour my world’ at Riflemaker gallery, including Matthew Collings, David Batchelor, Patrick Heron and Peter Davies and ‘Coalesce’ at Palma XII, Spain, including Kathrin Bohm, Manuel Saiz, Paul O’Neil and Jaime Gili.