The number 4 holds a special place in Chinese culture, but not for the reasons one might expect. In China, the number 4 is considered to be an unlucky number, and many people try to avoid using it whenever possible. This superstition is known as tetraphobia, and it has its roots in ancient Chinese beliefs and practices.

Number 4 (四 sì) sounds like 死 (sǐ; to die). Because of its negative association with death, most people consider this number to be so unlucky that many buildings in China do not even have a “fourth” floor. The number 4 is also unlikely to appear on house/door numbers and car license plates.

HAPPINESS IS EASY

Acrylics on canvas

50 x 50 cm / 20 X 20 inch

2023

Combining Western products with Chinese culture

Food in general has a much bigger meaning in China than the Western world. Chinese don't ask: "How are you?" They ask: "Did you eat?"

When it comes to Hot Pot, which literally translated means Fire Pot, the tripods of Zhou dynasty may be the earliest prototypes of it.

There are wide regional variations. 

According to research, 67 different spices and condiments are commonly used. That's why putting this name on a Campbell soup is quite shallow. At least it should be divided in Northern and Southern Hot Pot. But I hope the message is clear. 

Hot Pot is a flavorful broth traditionally served inside a large metal pot. The broth is brought to a boil and left simmering for the duration of the meal. Raw ingredients, such as meat and vegetables, are placed into the simmering broth and thus cooked.

Andy Warhol’s Soup Cans have become synonymous with the Pop art movement, and are responsible for propelling Warhol into a celebrated career in fine art from his day job as a comic illustrator. The motif made its debut in 1962 when Warhol mounted his first solo show featuring 32 canvases painted with Campbell’s Soup Cans—one for each flavor the company sold at the time. But the cans weren’t instantly beloved as they are now. Most critics snubbed the work for its commercial and mundane subject matter, and when the show closed, the gallery’s owner Irving Blum purchased the entire collection for $1,000. Today, Warhol’s Soup Cans fetch a much higher price—the auction record for the series, $11.8 million, was set by Small Torn Campbell’s Soup Can (Pepper Pot) (1962) in 2006.