Food Words of Shanghainese

This project explores the relationship between food, dialect, and cultural identity through the lens of Shanghai’s linguistic landscape. The work draws from food-related expressions and wordplay in the Shanghainese dialect, using language as an entry point to examine contemporary culture and local identity. Visual compositions reinterpret these linguistic nuances through symbolic imagery and typographic structures.

Particular attention is given to hybrid vocabulary, including loanwords and colloquial expressions, where meanings extend beyond literal definitions into metaphor and cultural reference. By translating dialect into a visual system, the series reveals how language, food, and identity are intertwined within everyday life.