There is really no consensus on when exactly the Chinese zodiac system was established, but there is no denying that it is recognized as a major part of the Chinese New Year tradition. Throughout the generations, people have tried to come up with a happy, colourful images of the zodiac signs to express their wish for a prosperous year ahead.
This year, as you wandered around the city during the Chinese New Year holidays, you would very likely have come across some intriguing monkey statues placed on the streets – 25 of them uniquely made by local artists and organizationsfor the local street art project Anno Simius 2016.
This is the third year of the project, which invites artists to decorate sculptures of the zodiac animal of the year. The finished works were displayed at the Venetian Macau as part of the hotel’s “Season of Prosperity” celebrations, and around tourism hotspots in Macau between February 3 and March 8.
In the previous two editions, millions of tourists photographed themselves with the vibrant horse and goat sculptures. And given its success so far, the organizers made the decision this year to continue the project annually for a full cycle of the zodiac.
Mica Costa-Grande, curator of Anno Simius 2016 believes the monkey is a special symbol of the interaction between East and West.
“The monkey represents this interaction better than any other animal because it is the guardian of the famous Journey to the West story”, he says.
Similar to previous years, the organizers provided the artists with a statue that depicts the zodiac animal in a realistic manner.
“We think the style of the animal is what attracts the people,” says Sofia Salgado, coordinator of the project.
Mica suggests that depicting the monkey in a realistic way, helps to set the statues apart from other Chinese New Year decorations around town, as well as allowing the artists to fully implement their own “creative fantasies”.
Community participation
As an outdoor public art event, it is inevitable the creations will be touched, and maybe even damaged by onlookers, but the organizers say that this does not trouble them at all.
Sofia believes that artists are well aware of the fact that their creations will be climbed on or even have parts taken as souvenirs. However, she does not consider this to be vandalism, but rather just people simply trying to bring home some New Year’s luck.
Mica adds that the interaction between people and the art installations is crucial, and argues that residents and tourists in Macau generally treat public art quite respectfully compared to what happens in some other cities in the world.
For future editions of the project, the curator says that they hope the public can contribute some new ideas.
“The real meaning of street art is that we are not the ones who plan everything. We are very open to ideas that we can implement and we hope to make the project gradually bigger and more closely linked to the public.”
MCZ – 猴 – Thomas Lo
“The design concept came from my experience and my upbringing. It includes the issues that we are facing, such as real estate prices. I want people to contemplate how we are trapped by money and housing and whether we are really more free than monkeys.”
Metamorphosis Monkey – Catarina Mesquita from
The Pearl River Delta Association
“The sculpture is the closing (zipping up) of last year’s animal and showing this year’s animal. People also like to be colourful during New Year.
Monkey Red – Aya Lei
“I use sharp and eye-catching colours to create a euphoric atmosphere. The red rope on the monkey represents the Chinese myth that lovers are tied together with red ropes.”
Zentangle Monkey – Ana Claudia Dias Cardoso & Fernando Carlos dos Santos Cardoso
“I adopted the zentangle drawing style, which is usually in black and white, and put colours on it to make it more creative and bring people happiness. My main focus is to allow people to interpret the patterns freely.”
