In Search of 'Indochinese Style': Between Southeast Asian Synecdoche and Colonial Boundaries

[premier paragraphe] "Indochina is like an open hand that Asia holds out towards the Pacific." So begins the 1961 book Indochine, Carrefour des arts (Indochina, Crossroads of Arts) by art historian Bernard-Philippe Groslier (1926-86). Further on, he specifies the nature of the relationship between Asia and Indochina through the title of one of the first chapters of his work: "Contribution of China and India: Birth of Indochina." Through a sleight of hand, Groslier makes it appear that Indochina was created from the pre-existing societies of China and India. Indochina's existence, in this book, is not absolute but is defined by an intrinsically relational nature maintained through its links with Asia, particularly with its two imposing neighbors, China and India, establishing implicitly a hierarchical relationship between these different spaces. There are many more examples demonstrating how the Indochinese Peninsula is not considered as a territory in and of itself, but is, particularly considering the arts and architecture, always thought of in relation to Asia.