Le Parc de la Pagode (Montréal), 1978, 2020
Karen Tam, Le Parc de la Pagode (Montréal), 1978, 2020, from the Ruinscape Drawings series, pencil on photocopy paper, 27.94 x 21.59 cm, Courtesy of the artist and Galerie Hugues Charbonneau, Montreal. Photo credit: Karen Tam.
Karen Tam’s drawing Le Parc de la Pagode (Montréal), 1978, 2020, depicts the pagoda that was installed in Montreal’s Chinatown in 1967 as part of the city’s efforts to revitalize the neighbourhood. The pagoda was donated by Arthur Lee of Wing Noodles—one of the oldest businesses in Chinatown—and was “dedicated to the cause of peace and harmony among all Canadians.” In 1981, the city removed the pagoda without informing Chinatown residents in order to expand Saint Urbain Street. This work is part of Tam’s series Ruinscape Drawings, 2020, which exposes the history of acts of vandalism in Chinatowns, the disappearance of these neighbourhoods, and anti-Asian violence in Canada and the United States.
Gallery
Refuse to eat our bitterness, 2021
金山夢 Gold Mountain Dreams (Flag), 2021
Marquis of Lorne Arch, 1882
A good reputation endures forever 流芳百世, 2021
C.S. Wing Studio, 2020
Unidentified Chinese Man Lighting a Cigarette, pre-1929
the chrysanthemum has opened twelve times (Banner), 2020
Le Parc de la Pagode (Montréal), 1978, 2020
the chrysanthemum has opened twelve times (Audio), 2020
Coin-Suit, 2021
Armour Vest for female warrior, 2012
Wood slat and rod body armour, 2012
Ruinscape (Wallpaper), 2020
After the 1907 Chinatown Riots in Vancouver, 2020
Chinese Arch on Pender St. (Vancouver), 1912, 2020
Victoria Chinese Public School, June 5, 2020, 2020
56-58 Elizabeth St., Toronto, 1937, 2020
March 30, 2020 Attack, 2020
Longevity to Our Elders, 2020
Celebration in Nanaimo Chinatown, n.d.
Success to the Revolution, 2021
From Yiwu to you, 2015–present
From Yiwu to you (detail), 2015–present