white dew, marble steps

"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