The True Warrior
“The True Warrior is one who serves the community through kindness and self-sacrifice in a non-violent way”
Bamboo, hardwood, Meranti, Pine, Oil paint, aerosol paint, rubber, tin, magnet, Steel and 1971 Kay guitar tremolo spring and on canvas
2016
by Vincent Twardzik Ching
Canada, Singapore
All funds from the sale of the said artwork, net of Paypal and other necessary service, administrative and delivery charges, shall be donated by the artists to Kiwanis Down Syndrome Foundation – Ipoh Centre. Delivery within Singapore only. This is in support of full inclusion.
THE MAKING:
The work included for this show was inspired by the recent upsurge in social media coverage of Indigenous peoples all over the world who are taking a stand against interests who seem to have only short term profit as their agenda. Being raised in a province in Canada where a high percentage of the population is Indigenous, Vincent was exposed to aspects of their culture that clearly ran counter to the typical historical, media and entertainment misrepresentations of those cultures and beliefs. The conception of a complete person being one who serves the community in a selfless way is a core principle that runs through many if not all Indigenous cultures worldwide and is also one that runs through the teachings of the Bahai Faith. Having embraced the Baha’i teachings in the early 1990’s Vincent’s art-making is often infused with metaphors that reflect Baha’i beliefs about the nature of sustainable and organic change and growth within communities. These processes are seen as dynamic paradigms that can only be successful and sustained if illuminated by ‘spiritual’ principles such as humility, kindness and a sense of mindfulness. It is at this nexus of community action/service, energized through practical spirituality, where Vincent’s art-work attempts to balance uncertainty and instability against ‘the promise of an ever-advancing civilization’.
THE STRANGEST ENCOUNTER INSIDE THIS WHITE CUBE: