CREAM

About This Piece

This hand-painted ceramic vase by contemporary artist Dimitria Barrows fuses classical porcelain motifs, animation history, and hip-hop culture into a sharp visual allegory on money and pursuit. Around the rim, the phrase "C.R.E.A.M."—short for Cash Rules Everything Around Me—references Wu-Tang Clan's financial manifesto, played out through Tom and Jerry chasing each other across the vessel's surface. The irony is the point—the fiat chase rendered in hand-painted earthenware. On one side, Jerry spears a wedge of cheese placed on a Ming-style porcelain plate, merging imperial ceramic symbolism with pop culture. The reverse shows Tom pushing an empty barrel, turning the cartoon rivalry into a metaphor for labor, desire, and the illusion of wealth. Blending slapstick, Chinese ceramic tradition, and hip-hop commentary, Barrows offers a witty reflection on how value shifts across cultures.

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