2022 Year of the Tiger
Lantern Stories
šxʷƛ̓ənəq Xwtl’e7énk Square
North of the Vancouver Art Gallery
Red Paper Series
Hung Tung
Hung Tung’s works often use red paper as the base material or background, giving a “new year” feel. The paintings are composed of original words created by Hung Tung himself, intertwined with colourful lines like intricate embroidery, and layered with warm colours and thick brushstrokes; they are filled with childlike wonder and fairy tale vitality. Much of his work is also influenced by temple culture. Composition methods and narrative structure such as the “flower and bird” painting style, mural paintings, gold paper patterns, etc. can be seen in the spatial arrangement of his creations.
Legendary Taiwanese artist learned to paint at 50 years old. Without any formal art training, Hung Tung incorporates his own life experiences and imagination, with elements such as religion, glove puppetry, Taiwanese opera, temples, and poems, into the patchwork of his art. Zigzagging lines and lattice patterns found in old decorative art are often present in his works, along with rich colours and bold images. For Hung Tung, who never learned to read, paintings of words and images of characters he created himself became an iconic feature in his art.
Hung Tung’s art is a significant catalyst in the development of Taiwanese art, prompting the shift to personal artistic expression in the 80s. Hung Tung’s works reflect Taiwan’s political, economic, and social development in that period of time. His paintings also became important symbols in culture to promote people to return to the countryside.
One Day
Sandeep Johal
Three tigers tangled amongst each other, each distinct from the other, but also blending together into one shape. We share a lot more in common with each other than we think. Like the stripes of a tiger, may our similarities bring us together as individual parts of one, strong whole.
Nazar Battu
Jag Nagra
Jag Nagra (She/Her) is a queer South Asian artist working and raising a family with her wife on the traditional and unceded territory of the Katzie First Nation. She is passionate about community development and ending the stigma against LGBTQ+ people within the South Asian community.
Jag focuses her art practice on South Asian concepts that depict a sense of confidence and fearlessness—she unapologetically celebrates darker skin tones and South Asian garments and motifs. Her work has been featured in the public realm throughout Metro Vancouver and she has recently collaborated with brands such as the Vancouver Canucks and Tim Hortons. She is currently serving as the Creative Director of Vancouver’s Punjabi Market Collective. Through art, she has found her voice and a new appreciation for her culture and identity.
Inspired by her Indian roots, Jag Nagra navigates the intersections of her identity by drawing from the iconography, mythology, and patterns she grew up with. Often placed at the entrances of homes, the Nazar Battu is a mask used in South Asia to ward off the evil eye by creating an intentional flaw or blemish to prevent perfection.
The Lantern City is proud to highlight the colourful diversity found right here in Vancouver. Through art, cultures and stories can be shared, and our understanding of our own identities can be expanded. Beyond cultural communities, religious communities, or even LGBTQ communities, we recognize the many ways in which we all belong in this city.
Tiger Tower
Paige Bowman
Three tigers tangled amongst each other, each distinct from the other, but also blending together into one shape. We share a lot more in common with each other than we think. Like the stripes of a tiger, may our similarities bring us together as individual parts of one, strong whole.
In the Year of the Tiger, we invite you to join us in appreciating the multitude of patterns, stripes, and colours that each of the tiger family possesses—just like we, as humans, have different cultures and backgrounds. Putting our uniqueness together, we are stronger!
Ocean Artworks
Granville Island
Lrikulau Clouded Leopard
Pacake Taugadhu
From the Haocha tribe of the Rukai Indigenous people of Pingtung County, Taiwan, Pacake Taugadhu’s natural talent for painting was evident even in childhood. Because of his colour-blindness and turbulent youth, he only began to devote himself to creating art seriously in 2013. Starting with the original intention of “only telling tribal stories and painting tribal culture,” in 2015, this concept has evolved into “telling immersive stories” which then transformed into “telling stories that are not only meaningful but critical.” Pacake Taugadhu’s creative energy is derived from the emotions of the mountains and forests, the ancestor spirits, the tribe and his people.
‘Lrikulau’ is the name of the Clouded Leopard in the Rukai language; it is said the Lrikulau led them to their village of Kucapungane.
“I remember one night in the old tribal grounds, my father sitting in front of the stove and making a fire. He said in our native tongue, ‘We have to always come home, to the slate house, and make a fire. The fire should always be burning, so that the ancestors who slept under the slate house could feel its warmth. As long as the fire burns, the Lrikulau will see it from the wilderness, and find the way home.’
After that, I was deeply fascinated by the symbol of the Haocha tribe of the Rukai, the Lrikulau, especially the bold pattern of its body, which always made me think, ‘Isn’t that the beautiful colour of our Rukai dress?’ Even with the belief that the Clouded Leopard has disappeared, I still remain optimistic and hope the Lrikulau is still out there!
It is a beautiful animal of Taiwan. Some people have spent more than a decade searching for it, yet it remains silent. I think, for some reason, years ago, it has become afraid of living amongst humankind… In Rukai, we call it Lrikulau. I like the name we gave it, I like the colour of its coat—so I use my paintbrush to bring it to life, let it live in every corner of my tribe.”
Honouring the Spirit of the Children
Jody Broomfield
Jody is a two time Public Award of Excellence recipient and a proud artist of the Squamish Nation, Coast Salish Peoples. He has been on his creative full time journey since 1999 and enjoys working with the mediums: carved wood, etched glass, etched stone works, fabricated metal sculptures, jewelry gold & silver, graphic design, painting and prints.
Jody has collaborated and worked on commissioned public arts projects with many Vancouver institutions and organizations such as the Cities of West Vancouver, North Vancouver, Port Moody, and Coquitlam, the Vancouver City Hall, Simon Fraser University, Tom Lee Music, BC Lions Society for Children with Disabilities, Four Host First Nations/Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic, and many more.
This design pays homage to the Spirit of the Children that never made it home from the atrocity institutes of the Indian Residential Schools. The discovery of remains started at the grounds of the former Kamloops Indian Residential School and extended research discovered remains across Canada at many former Indian Residential Schools.
This hit Jody Broomfield emotionally, as he thought of all the children that had attended, including members of his own family. He thought of all the families that were never notified, that their children had gone missing and/or died at these schools of atrocity.
“Today, I honour your Spirit and known that your families loved you. You will never be forgotten, may you live on through your loved ones and walk amongst the Ancestors.”
Transformation
Heather Sparks
Born and raised in Quw’utsun, Coast Salish traditional territories, Heather Dawn Sparks conjures the wilds of nature into expressive visual narratives. Intricately cut papers are layered with colour changing film, prisms, mirrors and light to create ephemeral works of shadow and light art. Nature oriented themes are further reflected in action. Sparks has spent the past 11 years collaboratively re-wilding a prior industrial land site, bearing witness to the exponential growth of plant and animal biodiversity as an outcome of ecological stewardship. Art is an act of creation. Through thoughtful tending, we come to belong to the land, and to each other.
We stand upon the threshold of change, finding ourselves momentarily suspended in a state of liminality. Liminal space is where all transformation takes place. The familiar dissolves, as we shape shift in adaptation to new realities. We unite collective networks and seek alternative perspectives, to grow towards a sustainable path of planetary wellness for the next generations of youth to come.
In the past few years, we have all witnessed change in nearly every aspect of our lives. From taking out instead of eating out, or drastic weather conditions, we have learned to adapt to new normals. Heather Dawn Sparks’ artwork reminds us of the beauty within the natural world around us, and how together, we can ensure that future generations will also experience all the colours and wonders of this earth.
Wind Garden
Danvic Briones
Danvic Briones is a visual artist, whose initial works were heavily influenced by surrealism and the subconscious. Fine Arts school, however, led him to another path—printmaking (collagraphy).
Briones carves on soft wood and paints it with subdued colors—the deepest red, moss green, and a maroon that borders on a darker hue. He touches it with a bright yellow and treats it with varnish. The end result: a plate that is not just part of the process but the final artwork.
Based in Vancouver, Filipino Canadian Briones has held several exhibitions in Asia, the United States and Canada.
The work depicts a time when nature was our playground, our plaything, and the source that powers our body, our mind, and our imagination.
As part of the Forever Young lanterns exhibit on Granville Island, Wind Garden reminds us of the simple joys found in our natural environment. Look how the children let their imagination lead! Let us hold onto that youthful wonder for the world around us!
Alegria
Cirque du Soleil
Originally composed of 20 street performers in 1984, Cirque du Soleil completely reinvented circus arts and went on to become a world leader in live entertainment. Established in Montreal, the Canadian organization has brought wonder and delight to more than 200 million spectators in more than 450 cities in over 60 countries on six continents. Cirque du Soleil is owned and operated by Cirque du Soleil Entertainment Group.
At the heart of a once-glorious kingdom that has lost its king, Alegría witnesses the power struggle at play between the old order and a new movement yearning for hope and renewal.
Undeniably the most iconic Cirque du Soleil production, Alegría is an all-time classic reimagined for a new generation to fall in love with. An uplifting immersive experience, Alegría whisks audiences away to a mystical world sprinkled with visual poetry and acrobatic extravagance.
With the passion of Canada’s most fantastic circus, The Lantern City welcomes the new year with an ever-youthful spirit. Lighting up Granville Island, Cirque du Soleil’s Alegría-inspired lantern captures the unbending and vibrant energy of a young generation rising up for the sake of hope. Part of our Forever Young lanterns, the creativity and resilience of youth everywhere can be seen in Cirque du Soleil’s lantern artwork.
Tickets are on sale for their Vancouver show Alegría in March! Visit their official site <a href=”https://www.cirquedusoleil.com/alegria”>https://www.cirquedusoleil.com/alegria</a> for more details.
sxwut'ts'uli Humming Bird
Charlene Johnny
Charlene Johnny is a Coast Salish artist from the Quw’utsun Tribes of Duncan, B.C., living and working on the unceded territory of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish) and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. She has apprenticed under well known artists and has formal art training from Native Education College. She began her career in 2012 when she won two artist grants from the YVR Art Foundation under mentorship of Alano Edzerza and Tsema Igharas working with business, graphic design, photography, glass and textiles. In 2018 she graduated from NEC’s Jewellery Arts program under the tutelage of Jon Erikson and Sharifah Marsden. She studied silver and copper carving along with mural art. In the same year, she apprenticed in the medium of painting with Maynard Johnny. With her interdisciplinary approach to art, she will continue to work in various mediums to explore and express her ancestral artwork through a number of contemporary ways.
This is a design featuring a hummingbird spindle whorl. There is a family of four birds circling a flower at the center. Four is a sacred number in the Indigenous world as it represents the teachings of the medicine wheel, the four seasons, four elements, and acknowledges the land, sky, sea and spirit. The stars on the outside represent our ancestors, as many believe our people fell from the sky at the beginning of time.
Capturing the harmony of the natural world, Charlene Johnny’s artwork reflects how we all are connected to each other. Through nature, culture, and art, we affect each other and inspire each other.
The Lantern City is grateful to be held on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territories of the Coast Salish peoples of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam Indian Band), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish Nation), and Səl̓ílwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh Nation). We acknowledge our privilege to be gathered on this land, and commit to work with and be respectful to the Indigenous peoples whose arts and stories inspire us to bring communities together.
