The Chinese Warrior

The Chinese Warrior

The Chinese Warrior

According to local legends, all Datuks were once humans who had a standing in society either for their position or special attributes. They could have been an important leader, a renowned healer, a silat warrior, a pious man or even a shaman. Upon their death, locals and their followers would sometimes offer prayers at their gravestones, in line with the concept of keramat. Local Malay culture prior to the arrival of a more conservative brand of Islam practised the paying of respects to guardian spirits or penunggu which is believed to reside in seemingly ‘unusual’ natural formations; a unique shaped rock, an ant mount, a snake’s nest, an extraordinarily large tree etc.

Theo truyền thuyết địa phương, tất cả Datuks đã từng là những người đã có một vị trí trong xã hội hoặc cho vị trí của họ hoặc thuộc tính đặc biệt. Họ có thể là một nhà lãnh đạo quan trọng, một người chữa lành nổi tiếng, một chiến binh silat, một người đàn ông ngoan đạo hoặc thậm chí là một pháp sư. Sau cái chết của họ, người dân địa phương và những người theo họ đôi khi sẽ cầu nguyện tại bia mộ của họ, phù hợp với khái niệm về keramat. Văn hóa Malay địa phương trước sự xuất hiện của một thương hiệu Hồi giáo bảo thủ hơn đã thực hiện việc trả tiền tôn trọng tinh thần hộ tống hoặc penunggu được cho là cư trú trong các hình dạng tự nhiên ‘không bình thường’; một tảng đá hình độc đáo, một con kiến, một tổ rắn, một cái cây cực kỳ lớn, v.v.

Three Faces

There is a Japanese proverb that regards to a person’s identity. That saying goes like this, humans have three faces, which means that the first face is what you show to strangers that you come across. The second face is what you show to those you love such as your close family and friends. The third face is what you show only to yourself. This is the truest representation of you. The crystal statue of the woman also has three faces. The woman’s face in the left is what she shows to other people. This side of her is physically peeking outside of the crystal, and this can be interpreted as a facade that she has when she meets other people. When you meet people, strangers or acquaintance, you try to make...

The Bride in the Red Dress

The bride is in an extravagant traditional Chinese wedding dress for women. In western and modern culture, white has been the traditional color for the brides to wear. However, red symbolizes good luck in Asian culture, which is why the brides would wear the bright color. Marriage is an important aspect of growing up, and it is also commonly expected of a couple before they officially start a family together. The idea to proclaim your love for one each other in front of your friends and family is a way to bring both sides of the couple’s families together. My mother and my father’s story is a bit different. When my parents met, they were sure they wanted to spend the rest of their lives together. After a...

Santa and the Two Vases

Santa arrives with his sack. This is a shrine about vessels and joy. A vessel is mother. It is place we go to be nurtured and replenished. We generally are rewarded with gifts and joy from both Santa's sack and mother's vessels. Ông già Noel và hai chiếc bình ông già Noel phía sau tấm quà của ông già Noel, ông già Noel đến với bao của ông. Đây là một ngôi đền về tàu thuyền và niềm vui. Một con tàu là mẹ. Đó là nơi chúng ta được nuôi dưỡng và bổ sung. Chúng tôi thường được thưởng bằng quà tặng và niềm vui từ cả hai bao của ông già Noel và tàu mẹ.

Shrine of the Blonde, the Cock, and the Electric Service

Our sense of power comes from being served.  We fantasize of service  from the female, the blonde maid with bountiful fruit at all levels of her presence, and the male cock, with his warrior like speech and sexuality. We are constantly measuring our power. Yet outside of the internal struggle for power and dominance sits the fawns waiting to be nurtured from the emerald glow of the vase and mother nature.

God of Wealth

My parents came to America from Vietnam to search for their American Dream. Just like most immigrants who come to this country, they all strive to be financially successful. Both of my parents work day and nights, even if that means not being able to attend our graduations or important school events. Their love for us is what motivated them to continue to endure many obstacles, in hopes that my siblings and I would not have to go through the similar struggles they had faced in their country. It is common for Asian families to display a statue of this god and worship him within their homes. As the god of wealth, it is believed within Asian culture that by worshipping he would embrace you with his wealth...

Grand Father Buddha

Grand father Buddha is shown sitting on a stump. He has the time now to contemplate the world. The pipe becomes a sign of meditation but also a sign of danger and death. At any moment his life may go up in smoke. If one meditates for too long within the sweet smell of tobacco , their lungs will blacken in time. With wisdom comes foolishness. Ông bố Phật được ngồi trên một gốc cây. Anh ấy có thời gian để chiêm ngưỡng thế giới. Đường ống trở thành dấu hiệu của thiền nhưng cũng là dấu hiệu nguy hiểm và cái chết. Bất cứ lúc nào cuộc sống của anh có thể tăng lên trong khói. Nếu người ta thiền quá lâu trong mùi thuốc lá ngọt ngào, phổi của họ sẽ đen lại theo thời gian. Với sự khôn ngoan đến ngu...

Curious frogs

The frogs are looking up at the boy with curiosity. Before the world was populated with humans, there were animals that roamed this planet. However, ever since the creation of humans, the planet is no longer in the flourishing and nurturing state like it was in before. It is important to care for the planet in order to co-exist with the animals and nature. People can be self-centered because they do not think about the future generation. It is a normal tendency for humans to think about their world before noticing the world around them. The environment is vulnerable but so are the humans. The boy, in particular, represents the humans who are slowly chipping away from the environment because they are...

Shrine of the Four Eyes

This shrine honors not only the all knowing concept of the "third eye", but also the concept of eyes on the back of my head. Surveillance cameras gives us knowledge. It centers us in place surrounded by the knowledge of inside and outside of our world. The glass swirls remind us that our sense of identity is circular. We swirl in the ego trying to center ourselves. We exist with both an internal identity and an external Identity.