Ho Tam, Wash bowl with "Made in China" prison bars (FC-018) (2025)

Ho Tam  
Wash bowl with "Made in China" prison bars (FC-018) 
2025  
inkjet on glossy photo paper  
edition of 5  
22 x 17 inches
unframed
 
 
The pattern of stripes on this wash basin resembles prison bars. From the 1960s up to now, there have been associations of products made in China with penal labour.
 
Penal labour is a form of unfree labour in which prisoners perform manual labour. It has a long history in China. In pre-Maoist time, a system of labor camps for political prisoners operated by the Kuomintang (KMT) during the Civil War from 1938–1949. Young activists and students accused of supporting Mao Zedong and his Communists were arrested and re-educated in labour camps for reforming youth.
 
After the Communists took power in 1949, penal labour was again used as a way to punish political prisoners. According to Al Jazeera special report on slavery, China has the largest penal labour system in the world today. Often these prisoners are used to produce products for export to the West.