This year, the West End BIA has once again celebrated the Lunar New Year with a display of public art. The association accomplished this by teaming up with LNY Splash on The Gift of Life installation by Huei-Ting Tsai.
The Taiwanese bamboo artist’s work includes fish appearing to swim freely through woven rings above the intersection of Cardero and Robson streets. The lit-up work embodies LNY Splash and LunarFest Vancouver’s slogan of Born to Be Free.
“In Mandarin, ‘fish’ sounds like ‘surplus’,” the LNY Splash website states. “We always hope to have extras to share in a new year. Fish, in many Chinese-speaking communities, symbolizes prosperity.”
Meanwhile, salmon are a central element of Coast Salish culture. LNY Splash points out that salmon serve as a primary food source and symbol of fertility, abundance, and renewal.
“Through this important symbol, we hope to bring together the warm well-wishes of both the Asian communities and the Coast Salish peoples, as well as everyone who may pass through the streets of Vancouver.”
The Gift of Life will remain near the intersection of Robson and Cardero streets until the end of February.
Last year, the West End BIA co-presented the Hakka Starry Skies on Cardero Street just south of Robson. With that installation, it partnered with the Kaohsiung municipal government in Taiwan to display oil-on-paper umbrellas, which often appear on auspicious occasions in Hakka culture.
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