Little Szechuan｜小四川
Qiming Sun
Qiming Sun is a Saskatoon-based Asian-Canadian artist and a practicing witch. He received his MFA and High Honours BFA from the University of Saskatchewan. He specializes in oil paintings and sculptural works inspired by nature, symbolism, and Shamanic spirituality. His works have been widely exhibited, many of which are included in the permanent collection of several Canadian institutions and galleries. Sun is the Co-Founder of Kyuubi Culture Artist Collective.
Qiming Sun 是加拿大亚裔藝術家，巫覡。他獲得了薩斯喀徹溫大學的美術碩士學位和高級榮譽美術學士學位。 Sun 專長由自然、象徵主義和薩滿巫术為靈感的油畫和雕塑。他的作品被廣泛展出，並被加拿大多所院校及畫廊永久收藏。 Sun 同時也是九尾藝術的聯合創始人之一。
Artist Statement｜作品簡介:
Food is more than mere sustenance for human beings; it is an amalgamation of ingredients and culinary techniques imbued with memories, emotional associations, and cultural iconographies. A soulful meal possesses the power to transcend time and space; the unique combinations of certain spices and specific ingredients in homemade meals can create distinct flavour profiles that evoke complex and raw sensations that could only be described as “ the taste of home.”
The diptych I have created for this project features classical Szechuanese dishes: the food I grew up eating; in a surreal combination with the landscape from which the viands originated. I aim to represent Szechuan cuisine in a symbolic, highly personal, and magical manner, hoping to translate and visualize the comfort and nostalgia I felt while enjoying authentic Szechuan cuisine through my usage of visual language.
料理，不僅是人維生之食糧； 更是聚食材，廚藝，情愫及文化於一體之大成。悉心烹製之饗，可貫徹五感，使人啖而生情； 家常菜式中那數種獨有香辛調配成的滋味，是令人回味無窮，百感交集卻難以言表，詞窮間只得以“家鄉味”譬喻的。
此次創作的靈感源於我兒時記憶中的川菜；將巴蜀風味中極具特色的佳餚以超現實的風格、象徵性的手法與其發源地的景致相結合；意在以視覺語言的形式，把地道川菜所牽引出的種種回味與千思萬緒娓娓道來。
Negar Tajgardan
Negar Tajgardan is a visual artist with a special interest in sculpture, installation art, and photography. Tajgardan's works are based on her memories of coming to Canada from Iran and broader concepts of immigration and displacement. She completed her MFA degree at the University of Saskatchewan, and her works have been exhibited in Iran and Canada.
Negar Tajgardan 是一位对雕塑、装置艺术和摄影特别感兴趣的视觉艺术家。 Tajgardan 的作品基于她从伊朗来到加拿大时的记忆，以及更广泛的移民和流离失所的概念。她在萨斯喀彻温大学完成了硕士学位，作品曾在伊朗和加拿大展出。
Artist Statement｜作品简介:
In the transitions of our lives, we remember places we go to and leave from. We are constantly making new memories, we know that nothing in our lives is permanent and even the memories will fade away eventually. My works are small replicas of useful objects of everyday life made out of dissolvable fabric. This material is chosen for its fragility and as an analog to the vulnerability in life as a result of displacement; the artwork itself is a way of finding a new home.
Our sense of ‘home’ and food are so blended that a familiar taste can help to heal the feeling of homesickness, a traditional flavour or smell can take one back to the years before and reawaken faded memories. I made small replicas of the very common objects in the restaurant, the very common objects which can make magic in bringing the memories alive again.
在生活的转变中，我们记得曾经去过和离开的地方。人们不断创造新的记忆，也知道生活中没有什么是永恒的，即使是记忆，最终也会慢慢淡去。我的作品是用可溶解织物制成的日常生活物品的小型复制品。选择这种材料的原因是它很脆弱，并且可以表达由于流离失所而导致的生命脆弱性， 艺术制作本身也是一种寻找新家的方式。
我们的“家”和食物的感觉如此融合，熟悉的味道可以帮助治愈思乡之情，传统的味道或气味可以让人回到多年前，重新唤醒褪色的记忆。我制作了餐厅中十分常见物品的小型复制品，这些常见的物品可以使记忆再次活跃起来。
Artwork in Little Szechuan
135 20th St W, Saskatoon
photo credit: Barbara Reimer
