Indigenous Art Statement

2000, a totem pole made of golf bags

Yesterday we visited the Vancouver Art Gallery, and one of the exhibitions on now is called Postcards from the Heart: Selections from the Brigitte and Henning Freybe Collection. The Freybes are art collectors who began this expensive hobby in the 1970s, and continue to today.

It's an eclectic mix of artists, the ones shown were mostly Canadian.

Skeleton of a whale made from plastic chairs

One piece was by Brian Jungen called 2000 that he completed in 2007.

At first glance it looks like a totem pole, but upon inspecting it closer, the work is made of golf bags.

Several years ago his work was exhibited at the VAG, where he took everyday objects and turned them into art, from plastic lawn chairs into what looked like the bones of a whale, and taking Nike shoes and making them into striking Indigenous masks.

BC artist Jungen is known for transforming mass-produced commercial goods into sculptures and installations. 

Indigenous mask made from Nike shoes

In 2007 when this piece 2000 was made, Jungen was interested in land-use in Vancouver, particularly where some local Indigenous nations leased their land to golf courses. 

For him, this recalled the Oka Crisis of 1990, where there was a land dispute prompted by the expansion of a golf course on Mohawk territory in Quebec. 

His works are bold, making a strong political statement and at the same time executed flawlessly. Jungen has thought out what he wants to say in his work and makes them into exciting and fantastic art pieces which in a way is ironic in itself.

Eason Chan's Viral Outburst

Chan said he would speak whatever language he wanted

Hong Kong Cantopop singer Eason Chan Yik-shun caused a stir at his concert in Macau on October 13 when he hit back at fans in the audience asking him to speak in Mandarin, saying "so be it if you can't understand".

Some people in the audience could be heard shouting, "Speak Mandarin", to which Chan at first said something in Thai, followed by English: "I love speaking whatever the way and language I want", which received cheers and applause from other people in the crowd.

Then Chan's tone became critical, when he said in Cantonese: "Wouldn't 'could you speak in Mandarin please?' be better than 'speak Mandarin'?" He added he could speak the language [Mandarin] fluently, but it would be nice if people could be polite, which drew more applause.

Chan caused an uproar at his concert in Macau

Chan said he would say "shut up" to anyone who asked him to speak English. "So be it if you can't understand," he added before moving onto his next song.

It seemed as if the singer was venting his annoyance for having to placate Chinese fans who expect the star to speak Mandarin... but did he realise he was in Macau where over 90 percent of its visitors are from the mainland?

But then again he is from Hong Kong, and there are many Mandarin speakers who appreciate listening to Cantonese.

Nevertheless some felt Chan was taking a political stance, as language has become a sensitive issue in the city. 

But when it comes to his politics, Chan is not clear-cut. In June, his management cut ties with a concert organiser in China due to a censorship row after the latter replaced the name of a politically outspoken lyricist in the show application to authorities. 

The person in question is Albert Leung Wai-man, known as Lam Chik, who has written many of Chan's hits. However, Leung is also known as being supportive of Nathan Law Kwun-chung, who fled into exile in the UK.

Previously he partnered with Adidas

Chan also outraged many of his fans when he announced he was severing ties with Adidas after it refused to use Xinjiang cotton.

Adidas along with Burberry, Nike, Calvin Klein and H&M publicly said they would not source cotton from western China due to concerns of using forced labour by Uyghurs.

His fans threatened to boycott his concerts and albums, and now he has enraged another part of his fan base. 

Or does he do this just to get attention?