Occupying Chinatown Book

Published by On Main Gallery 
ISBN: 978-0-9694777-7-8
Edition of 500
Hardcover: Black linen with silver deboss
180 pages
29.85cm x 23.5cm x 1.59cm, 1kg
Release: September, 2021
$80 CAD
Available at select bookstores

For inquiries or to purchase a book, please email admin@onmaingallery.ca

On Main is thrilled to announce the release of Paul Wong’s Occupying Chinatown, a beautifully detailed, limited edition hardcover book, fully bilingual in English and Simplified Chinese, focusing on several of Wong’s major artworks exploring Chinese-Canadian identity and his engagement with Vancouver’s Chinese communities. With full colour photos and documentation of Wong’s artwork as well as three original essays, Occupying Chinatown is an evocative exploration of language, amnesia, and cultural displacement, inspired by 900 letters sent to Suk-Fong Wong, Paul Wong’s mother, over the course of 65 years. 

Within this remarkable 180 page cloth-bound book, Wong’s essay “Suk Fong, How Are You?” (淑芳你好嘛?) takes a closer look at the family histories contained within the letters, while Dr Christopher Lee’s essay “Reading Letters, Reading with Trust” (阅读书信，以信读信) reflects on the process of interpreting a selection of these letters with his students. Debbie Cheung’s “Private to Public: A New Collective Experience of Chinatown” (推己及人：唐人街新的共同体验)  details Wong’s year-long residency at the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Garden through which these private letters offered an opportunity for the local Chinese community to consider their shared stories and their rapidly changing Chinatown.

“The inspiration for this book began a decade ago with the diagnosis of my mothers Alzheimer’s disease. What do you lose when you lose memory? You lose a thread of connection—history, language, culture, food, medicine. As my mother lost her memories I realized what was being erased were experiences of her generation. Of women who came to this country who often lived silenced. The book includes several dozen private letters translated from Chinese to English and includes documentation of many of the artworks they inspired. Occupying Chinatown is a record of not only what has been lost, but it also highlights what was previously unknown—the everyday. And with this book, that is what will now be remembered.”
 — Paul Wong

Occupying Chinatown features original collages, reproductions and stills from several of Wong’s significant works including Father’s Words, based on his mother’s letters; Ordinary Shadows, Chinese Shade, a 1988 video work exploring Wong’s first trip back to China; Mother’s Cupboard /  媽媽的藥櫃, a series of prints featuring his mother’s treasured jars of traditional elixirs and ingredients; and Saltwater City – Vancouver / 咸水埠温哥华, a neon piece installed in several locations throughout Vancouver. 

On Main is grateful to the sponsors and funders:
The Canada Council, City of Vancouver, Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden, The Audain Foundation, and Rick Erickson and Donna Partridge. 

On Main Gallery出版

ISBN：978-0-9694777-7-8
限量500版
精装：黑色亚麻布、银色压纹
180页
29.85cm x 23.5cm x 1.59cm，1kg
发行：2021年9月
$80 CAD
指定书店有售

On Main很高兴宣布发行黄柏武的新书《身在唐人街》。《身在唐人街》是一本限量版精装书，全书以英文和简体中文双语对照的方式，呈现了黄柏武多件关于探索华裔加拿大人身份以及在温哥华唐人街进行社区参与的重要艺术作品。书中收录大量全彩照片、黄柏武艺术作品档案、以及三篇专属文章，是对语言、记忆缺失、和文化错位的深入探索。本书灵感源自淑芳（黄柏武母亲）横跨65年收到的900封信件。

 全书共180页，内容精彩。黄柏武的文章《淑芳，你好嘛？》详细讲述了信中自己的家族历史。李明皓博士的文章《阅读书信，以信读信》侧重描述他和学生一起解读信件的过程。张凤城的文章《推己及人：唐人街新的共同体验》介绍了黄柏武在中山公园艺术驻留期间公开展示这些私人信件，为本地华人社区提供了契机，从而思考这些共同经历以及急速变化的唐人街。

我不是传统学术定义下的学者，我的艺术实践也不基于方法论。因此这本书不应是历史文献或家谱。我的初衷是好奇——母亲在失去心智的过程中具体失去了什么。《身在唐人街》提供了一个概念性框架，然后大量记忆、语言和历史瞬间的碎片被结合并激活，从而创作出一系列的艺术作品。这个项目也使我能够持续观察到“日常事物”中不平凡的内涵。

— 黄柏武

《身在唐人街》精选黄柏武多件重要艺术作品的独特拼贴、复刻、和影像截图，包括作品《父字》——源自他母亲的信件；《普通的影像，中国之色调》——这个1988年的视频作品源自黄柏武首次前往中国的经历；《妈妈的药柜》——灵感源自他母亲珍藏的中草药材和瓶罐；以及《咸水埠温哥华》——曾在温哥华多个地点展示的霓虹灯公共艺术作品。

 On Main对资助方表示感谢：
加拿大国家艺术委员会、温哥华市政府、中山公园、奥丹艺术基金会、Rick Erickson和Donna Partridge。

获取更多信息，请发送电子邮件至admin@onmaingallery.ca