Andrew unearths great journeys through origami assemblage, influenced by his experience as a second generation Canadian. “We are keenly aware of our ‘otherness’, wondering if we truly belong. I fold hundreds of origami birds to honour hardships and sacrifices made by my parents’ generation. As I lay each bird in its place, I realize that the journey continues – I am still finding my way, to be accepted, by others, by myself.” The process is a cathartic, meditative practice. Always striving for perfection, taking joy in the completion of each small task, the culmination of thousands of motions to create something greater than the sum of its parts.
Welcome to the Migration Collection.
Hopes and Fears
They all had big hopes in their hearts. It was during the settling down of post-war that many from the east sought to go west for a better life. The promise of a better life in the America’s was brought over in songs and movies. My dad learned every Elvis song in Taiwan. There was a mandate to go study science and engineering as many thought they would bring those skills back to rebuild in the east. My father who studied engineering became a labourer and carpenter in Toronto and was among the many immigrants who built Toronto and a new life here.
There are so many stories of immigrants fleeing their homelands due to war and violence. Even today many schools are folding blue and yellow origami cranes hoping for peace in Ukraine.
While many of my aunts and uncles ended up in San Francisco or Texas in the U.S., my dad came to Toronto with $200 in his pocket. My mom followed her University friends to Toronto and got a job at TD bank. They met in Chinatown when there was an actor strike for a local play. They both knew the Taiwan official who was organizing the play and volunteered to fill-in last minute. I guess the rest is history. I always wondered what it would have been like back then and how they viewed Canada before they left. From my perspective it was the perfect choice and land of opportunity. Canadian Dream II is now welcoming visitors to Toronto at Pearson International Airport as part of CIBC’s Ambition Takes Flight Exhibition (Terminal 1 International Baggage Hall, Carousel 9). I could not think of a better place for this artwork.
The Journey
I got to explain this one as a promo for the Artist Project. It explores what was it that prompted people to leave their place of origin. What was the build-up of hopes, fears and dreams that prompted them to take that first step to journey beyond the place they knew.
Through Peril was from the showcase piece from my 2021 collection and I was thrilled to show it at the Artist Project. It was purchased by Manulife, and I am so honoured to be included in a corporate collection where the work would be well preserved and seen by countless more people. And I felt it fitting that this piece went to an insurance company. As it this piece is about the hard times that we all go through as part of our journey, insurance is something that is often there during the worst ones.
I always hear the stories. Different families, different cultures, same story. Maybe it was the first uncle who came over with nothing but poor English. Somehow he was able to simultaneously learn English and study hard enough to get through University and earn a PhD. Also, working minimum wage jobs to pay for school AND to send back home. They set the example and blazed the trail for their siblings, friends and country people’s to come over. They loaned money and hosted families in their homes and enabled countless communities to form here in the America’s.
Finding Home
This was the piece that started my origami practice. I was sculpting at the time and my wife asked me to paint a large colourful piece for her office. I was reluctant to try abstract painting because I always found it difficult. However, I had been doing origami with my kids lately and saw some of the beautiful origami art being made around the world. I thought I’d try something which I thought was obvious, I would fold a thousand origami cranes and stick them onto a panel. The problem with abstract art melted away because I was depicting a journey, her journey, of leaving her home and coming to Toronto and finding her family here. There’s a Japanese legend that the gods would grant a wish and good fortune to whoever could fold a thousand origami cranes. I wished for the good health of my wife and her patients. I was also granted the good fortune of finding my new art practice.
Inspiration from Engineering
While these pieces continue on the theme of journeys, you can see the influence from my engineering background. These pieces took inspiration from science, math, physics and the laws of nature.
Based on Keplar’s law of planetary motion the ellipse with a densely textured centre is one of my trademarks and depicts a strong centre of gravity.
This piece is inspired by the ripple patterns in the sand caused by the waves pushing in and out at the beach. Did you know that scientists who find fossilized sand ripples can tell a lot about the water levels and maybe even weather patterns of that time period? A lot of details are lost but some intrinsic information is preserved. As I think about my parents’ generation and that of my children, I wonder what will be lost, what will be preserved, and what might defy scientific prediction.
A simple design depicting increasing velocity as the streamline converges. Based on Bernoulli’s principle of fluid dynamics, it describes compressible flow through a narrow passageway. In the immigration story, there is often a moment when one of our ancestors HAD to get through that narrow passageway: a door to a plane, train, boat. The stories haunt us but remind us of how lucky we are.
Butterflies are a very common symbol in art because there is so much meaning in their story. I think much is connected with the transformation from a caterpillar. I however, am very connected to other aspects of their story. There is the aspect of the multi-generational migration from Mexico to Canada which is represented here. But also, the composition and movement in this piece is based on magnetic field lines. They say the butterfly can use the earth’s magnetic field to aid in its navigation. That moves me because I think about the mysterious forces which seems to guide each of us. Whether it be religion, fate or self determination, there is always something invisible but very powerful that guides us all.
Based on the fluid dynamics, this piece shows the flow of air and the eddies which form and dissipate. Flow is rarely devoid of turbulence the the eddies are constantly forming and dissipating. This piece is about the transience of that turbulence.
I’ve been wanting to integrate the story of the migrating salmon into my portfolio ever since I started but I could never find the right model. After years of searching online and in every book I could find, I finally gave up and instead learned how to design it myself starting from the crease pattern. I was inspired by Robert J Lang, a master origami artist and physicist who discovered how to design origami models starting from 2-D geometric planning. He understood the mathematics behind it so well that he even wrote his own software to help in the design process. I didn’t go quite that deep but I was proud that I could lock myself up in a hotel room and by using his principles, I was able to come up with an original model that finally measured up to what I was going for. My inspiration, the chinook salmon, thriving well in Lake Ontario but a species introduced from the North Pacific.
Portraits
In 2023, I wanted to make portraits using my method of origami assemblage. The idea was to further cement the idea that I was painting and using the colourful origami cranes as brushstrokes. While the temptation was there to select the common pop-art subjects such as Marilyn Monroe or Audrey Hepburn, I decided to stay true to my Migration theme and instead chose to portray Asian icons in North America.
For my first portrait, I chose to portray my childhood hero Bruce Lee with black cranes only. This was challenging but I enjoyed bending and shaping the cranes to create the facial features. My “brush strokes” were practically doing gymnastics, bending and swerving to my will in order to create this image.
In my second portrait, I portrayed Simu Liu in his role in ShangChi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. We couldn’t believe that a Chinese-Canadian local would become a Marvel Superhero. Taking my son to watch this picture reminded me of how proud my dad was when he took me to see Enter the Dragon. This piece won the People’s Choice Award in the 2023 Canadian Portrait Competition by the Portrait Society of Canada.
In Warrior, I portrayed Liu YiFei playing Mulan in Disney’s live-action motion picture. The film was stunning and to see a Chinese face as a Disney princess who really wasn’t a princess but a brave, loyal and honourable warrior meant everything to me as I watched it over and over again with my daughter.
These images meant something to me, and because of that I was able to endure the back-breaking experience that it took to make these pieces. For almost a year I started collecting new papers that would form my new palette for these pieces. Since I could not “mix” my colors together, I had to cluster for example a white, yellow, pink and orange strategically to form an average skin tone. My viewer squinting or taking a photo then mixes those colors for me.
My latest portrait is again of Bruce Lee, inspired by one his famous quotes. I wanted to achieve likeness while simultaneously creating a motion and flow within the image. I am proud that this work was selected as a finalist in the 100 Kellogg Lane 2024 ART COMP.
For more recent works, follow me on Instagram and click here to find out more about purchasing a piece.
