Friday One Sheet: SCHEMES IN ANTIQUES 古董局中局

Orange & Teal comes to China by way of this key art for Schemes in Antiques. A focus on the highly strategic and deceptively simple game of Go, and a repeating unit ("Go-Ception"? "Go-Fractal"?) is at the heart of artist Xin Li Yian's design. Xin also did a lot of key art, including  character posters, for Chinese ULTRA-Blockbuster The Battle at Lake Changjin.

Here, with its sun-kissed oranges fading into almost a deep ember glow, a highly unusual credit block in the upper right corner, and subtle landscape painting going on in the background,  there is a lot to take in.  My only criticism is that the large hand placing the Go stone is a bit clumsy and overpowering to the overall design, and the idea would have come across just fine without it. The one-sheet would have a bit more visual breathing space. Otherwise, it is compelling in how hard it leans into orange.

Below the Go key art, I have included another variation on the concept, with the oranges and teals reversed, underneath a tea-cup, propped up as a trap.