"white dew, marble steps"
14'' x 20'' Acrylics, inks and pencil on paper
collaboration piece by Harvey Chan and myself.
Here's the final piece I'm contributing to '
Unworldly Reunion', a show which opens tonight in Toronto, Canada.
white dew, marble steps is about personal growth in our own cultural
backgrounds. More specifically, it is about an Asian growing-up in
Canada. The Chinese characters on the grid paper is an excerpt from
'Marble Steps Complaint', a poem written by one of the great Chinese
poets Li Bai. This piece is influenced by the themes of growth, mystery
and change found in many of Li Bai's poems.
Growing up, I remember
dreading Chinese school every weekend. (If you're Chinese-Canadian you
know what I'm talking about!) I had to memorize many poems in order to
get a passing grade. I hated it. I did not understand why we had to
learn about the past, it just wasn't relevant to me. What influenced me
was the gloss of popculture…
As I grew older I asked myself who
am I? What are my origins? This painting is a return to my Chinese
heritage which I was once so involved in as a child.
Location:
DanZon Art & Dance Centre, 2480 Dundas Street West, Unit 104 ( 5 min walk north of Dundas West subway station )
Time:
August 9th, 2012. 7pm - 12am. ONE NIGHT ONLY
Artists:
Jon
Todd, Brianne Service, Jose Ortega, Juana Zuniga, Fiona Smyth, Selena
Wong, Fred Sbastian, Peter Chan, Hyein Lee, Hiend Tang, Chu Zhang, Shen
Plum, Mary Paz Sobreira, Miko Sobreira, Keita Morimoto, Megan Ellen,
Richard da Mota, Matthew da Mota, Jona Stewart, Johny Deluna, Jack
Shepherd, Wendy Ding, Tomo Nagamoto, Nataly Kim, Martha Chan, Kestin
Cornwall, Ivan Prusac, Hanna Barczyk, Wing Yee Tong, Andrew Colebeck,
Samia Taqi, Corrine Darvill, Kimberley Whitchurch, Anne-Karoliina
Koskinen, Tomio Nitto, Mariana Tomasevic...
-Chanp