CHineseINK

 

 

Yesterday I attended a function at the Villa Maria Estate, Auckland, organised by the New Zealand Olympic Committee to announce the team uniforms. At the end of that function I represented the President of the New Zealand Chinese Association, Kai Luey, to present the Dragon Sculpture to the NZ Olympic Committee.

The function was attended by the Chinese Ambassador HE Zhang Yuanyuan, members and officials of the NZ Olympic Committee, past and present Olympic sportsmen and women and a large contingent of Chinese New Zealanders drawn from both the old and new migrant communities. The presentation was fully covered by the news media.

With the designer of the sculpture, Guy Ngan at his side, Ron Sang, architect, described the fundraising, organisation and processes involved in bringing this project to fruition in a short time. I then made the presentation. My speech is attached.

The sculpture in real life is more dynamic than the model, and particularly under spotlights, the angles, curves, planes and levels of the various parts of the dragon generate an interesting interplay of light with its stainless steel background and granite base. The actual sculpture (on a lightweight temporary base) will go on public display at various airports in New Zealand in the next two months before being shipped to Beijing.

 

 

My speech:

I am here today to represent Kai Luey, the President of the New Zealand Chinese Association to present this Dragon Sculpture to the NZ Olympics Team.

The sculpture will be shipped to Beijing and located outside the Team’s quarters during the Games. After the Games, the NZ Olympic Committee will present the sculpture to the Beijing Olympic Organisation and it will go on permanent display at its new building.

I should emphasise that although the fundraising was organised by the New Zealand Chinese Association, the funds came from a wide cross-section of the Chinese in New Zealand, drawn from both the old migrant community and the new migrant community. The names of the major donors to this project are inscribed on the stainless steel sculpture and all donors are recorded in a book.

Apart from Kai Luey, Guy Ngan and Ron Sang have had major roles in the project.

Guy Ngan is New Zealand’s most senior Chinese artist who work in various contemporary media is underpinned by Chinese philosophy. Guy has been responsible for many public art works including sculptures outside the Wellington City Council, the Reserve Bank, the Government Printing Office and the entrance to Stokes Valley. Guy was responsible for the design of the dragon.

Ron Sang, who besides being an eminent architect in Auckland, is a long-time collector of art. His home houses one of the greatest private collections of modern New Zealand art. He has recently branched into fine art publication. Ron has been instrumental in the implementation and delivery of the design.

As you can see, the sculpture is a dragon in abstract form, fabricated in stainless steel with a pounamu pearl on its tongue.

The dragon is a symbol representing the Chinese people. Unlike the dragons of the western tradition, the Chinese dragon has many positive connotations such as moral rectitude and justice.

The fact that this dragon is executed in a contemporary idiom shows that the Chinese people are not stuck in the past, but adapt themselves continuously to the modern world.

In the case of this dragon, the indigenous Maori culture is recognised by the inclusion of a pounamu pearl on its tongue. How appropriate!

The Chinese community is presenting this sculpture to the NZ Olympics Team in a year that the Games are being held in Beijing.

This shows that the New Zealand Chinese community is proud to be kiwi, supporting our national team. At the same time the community proudly remembers its links with its former home country.

In a world which is increasingly globalised, relocations and the formation of new communities have become common and necessary. But at the same time, recognition of ones history and heritage are increasingly important to ones sense of identity.

By choosing one of its own artists to create a contemporary representation of a central deity from its ancient mythology and presenting it to the New Zealand Olympics Team the Chinese community in New Zealand affirms that its future is firmly grounded in the New Zealand and its western culture. By doing so on the occasion of China’s first Olympics, the community re-affirms its pride in its heritage, its confidence in the future of China and its hope and wish for an ongoing, dynamic and deepening relationship between the community’s new home and its historical home.

So on behalf of the Chinese community in New Zealand, and the particularly the major sponsors, I would like to transfer this sculpture to the care the NZ Olympics Team. As you see it each day, may it remind you of the link between the country you are visiting for the Games and that community of New Zealanders who originally hailed from those shores. May the Dragon bring you good luck, good health and success in your endeavours.