Ceci n'est pas une pipe à opium

This work is inspired by Rene Magritte’s ‘The treachery of images.’ The painting shows an image of a pipe. Below it, Magritte painted, “Ceci n’est pas une pipe”. French for “This is not a pipe”.  It was a painting in which Magritte raised philosophical questions on the nature of pictorial representation in art. In the same vein, Yipang features an opium pipe and inscriptions written in reverse French that reads “Ceci n’est pas une pipe à opium’, meaning “This is not an opium pipe”. The significance of an opium pipe in her work, however, lies in its cultural and historical importance to the Chinese people.