Good Luck to the People
Swaying, rippling and catching wind, this open air installation refers to the traditional Chinese dragon dance. Presented without the typical clues of celebration, a 30 foot long dragon constructed of clear tarp suspends within a scaffold structure. Through a range of movement, this work portrays the moments of strength and uncertainty for an identity in progress.
The sight and sounds of construction echo around the city. The hollow clanking of scaffold. The rippling of tarp. These are familiar. It is progression. It is reinvention. It is erasure. This installation takes these materials and all their meanings to tell a story about culture and identity.
Within a scaffold structure, hangs a long serpentine figure made of tarp. This figure refers to the Chinese dragon dance. Performed at Lunar New Year celebrations, a choreographed troupe physically animates the long dragon body bringing a sense of collective power, positivity and good luck to the festive crowds who surround.
But what happens when you remove people from culture?
What is lost when cities demolish or take away space -physical or spiritual?
What happens if space for connection, growth and exploration was never provided or allowed?
The concept of this work came from a place of reflection within a time of uncertainty. It stems from a place of internal processing and questioning, eventually moving from isolation, to solidarity and assembly. While the dragon featured in this installation hangs and dances without the support of people, the spiritual and physical creation involved many voices and hands including that of artist Lux Habrich.
As the dragon ebbs and flows with changing winds and air currents, it brings to life the power and potential of the in-between. Swaying, deflated, full and almost taking flight, this work highlights the complexities and nuance within a story of resilience. Giving space to all the possibilities, it acknowledges the ways we can and do exist in the liminal.
