Yong Fei Guan: 塑胶狮 (Su Jiao Shi)
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The Works Gallery 10635 95 St, Edmonton, Alberta T5J 2C3
Yong Fei Guan, "塑胶狮 (Su Jiao Shi)," 2018
photo by Nicolas Verdi
塑胶狮 (Su Jiao Shi) by Yong Fei Guan opens at City Hall January 15 and runs to February 15.
On April 4, 2018, the city of Edmonton removed the Chinese guardian lions from the Harbin Gate at Chinatown for the LRT construction. Coincidingly, as of January 2018, China is no longer accepting certain plastic recyclable products from Alberta’s municipalities. In the context of these two events, artist, Yong Fei Guan, transforms plastic waste into contemporary Chinese guardian lions that speak about the Chinese-Edmonton culture. 塑胶狮(Su Jiao Shi) is a pair of contemporary Chinese guardian lion sculptures that Guan created from household plastic waste. Coming from a heritage that wastes nothing, Guan questions consumer culture and its effect on environment. She suggests an ironic relationship between the Chinese guardian lions and plastic waste: the Chinese guardian lions are perceived as not valuable enough to stay in their original place, whereas our plastic waste is not valuable enough for China to take from us. 塑胶狮(Su Jiao Shi) means plastic lion.
Su Jiao Shi was first presented at The Works Art & Design Festival in 2018.
Celebrate 塑胶狮 (Su Jiao Shi) on January 31st with a reception from 5:30 to 7:30 PM at Edmonton City Hall, City Room. Enjoy tea, light snacks, and entertainment presented by the Edmonton Intergenerational Sports and Wellness Association.