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.

HK Golf Course Won't be Turned into Housing

High Court ruled the golf course not be turned into housing

When there was a consultation that recommended the government to take over the Hong Kong Golf Club at Fanling and build housing on the land in 2018, it immediately sparked a debate between the haves and have nots, as members, who are part of the elite class wanted to keep their prestigious club along with the green space, while those who waited for a roof over their heads are still waiting with no end in sight.

But it was finally decided when the High Court ruled against developing the city's oldest golf course into public housing. One could probably audibly hear the sighs of relief of Fanling golf club members.

That means 9.5 less hectares of land for flats

That means the government will have 9.5 less hectares to build housing, though Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu believes this setback won't have a significant effect on the overall housing supply, even though that means 12,000 fewer flats that were planned to be built on the golf course.

He spun it as a proposal by the previous administration.

"Now that the environmental assessment report is overturned, the government must do a comprehensive assessment and public consultation again," Lee said before meeting with the Executive Council.

"This will greatly affect the number of flats, the density and the completion date of the project."

But Lee believed the government was still on track to build 300,800 homes over the next decade.

Lee says the govt has enough land for housing

"The government has sourced enough land to construct more than 308,000 flats," he said. "The single change in the site's development will not have a huge impact on Hong Kong's overall housing supply."

So where else is Lee going to find more land to develop flats? It's an ongoing refrain that the city has numerous brown sites, land that has buildings that were for previous uses like schools or warehouses, and yet the government has not considered these, perhaps because they are too small.

But Hong Kong is not a place where it should neglect any possible sites -- land is scarce and any that is left vacant should be considered. Beijing is putting pressure on the Hong Kong government to house its citizens and in this case should comply with some creative solutions.

Palm Springs: A Morning at the Fair in the Desert

Metal art like these sculptures were for sale at the market

Every weekend from October to May is the Street and Art Fair at College of the Desert. It's an actual college and the parking lot is turned into a temporary open market where locals and visitors can buy all kinds of things from fruits to jewellery, clothing and even shoe horns.

We drove there around 11am and it's a good set up. Across from where the temporary fair is the parking lot for cars and even better is mini transportation in the form of golf carts to ferry people to the open-air market and back. If you have too many things to carry, or your legs are tired, it's the best.

Wine glasses for diehard golfers...

Even better is the happy-go-lucky driver we had both ways, who was greeting many people by name and waving to those he didn't know. He was very happy to be driving the cart and chatting with people. Maybe it's also because he gets tips in a plastic cup taped to the cart.

Nevertheless, we were dropped off at the middle of the market where a guy dressed as Santa Claus was selling Kris Kringle coffee in paper bags. I didn't see him make a sale but he waved to people and said, "Ho ho ho!"

Feel sorry he had to stand around in 21 degree heat... he couldn't even get an umbrella sorted to give him some shade...

In any event people can buy all kinds of items at this market. The first one we saw sold all kinds of things one would find in a dollar store, like shammies, kitchen gadgets like graters, and foldable laundry baskets.

Heck you could even buy a car if you wanted -- they claimed they ship everywhere!

Colourful folk art pieces to decorates homes

There were also steering wheel covers for sale, reading glasses, watches, jewellery, hats, and a purse organiser (a pouch with many compartments in it to put in your purse).

For those who love a good salesman pitch could watch a guy talk nonstop as he demonstrated how to use a ginger grater, and there was a small group of people watching intently. He was even throwing in a recipe book if you bought a grater...

One stall sold women's golf wear which was quite popular -- with changing rooms too, while another sold golf clubs, US$20 for a sand wedge! Serious golfers were amused.

A food section where there were picnic tables had stalls selling coffee, popcorn, hotdogs, and iced drinks. There were also fruits for sale, like strawberries, papayas, pomegrantes and apples, as well as vegetables and dried dates that were stuffed with walnuts, coconuts, or plain. 

The market seemed like the community centre where people hung out on the weekends to say hi or something to do with friends. We didn't buy anything, but was fun to look!

Giant pomegranates up for grabs

Street & Art Fair at College of the Desert

October to May, 8am-2pm

Corner of Monterey Avenue and Magnesia Falls, Palm Desert