The Chinese Zodiac Series

The Chinese Zodiac

2014-present (unfinished) | leather, fabric, sequins, glass, feathers, metal

Nine pieces approximately 24” x 18” x 18” (sizes vary per piece)

Everyone has seen Chinese restaurant menus depicting the Chinese zodiac. The actual mythology behind the zodiac is an entertaining story about a race across a river to determine the order the animals would be placed in the zodiac. Rat knew he wasn’t a strong swimmer, so he hitched a ride on Ox’s back, ran down and hopped onto shore first, coming in just before Ox, to be the first in the zodiac. Tigers are strong swimmers, so he was third. At this point, you might wonder why a flying dragon was not the first across the river, but as a benevolent dragon, he spotted nearby farmers in drought conditions, and detoured to bring them rain. On the way back to the race, he saw Rabbit, who was hopping from rock to rock, slip near shore and get washed away. Dragon blew a gentle wind to take her to shore and fourth place. Then, Dragon flew in. Snake hitched a ride on Horse’s hoof, and startled her when they got to shore so he could be next. Goat, Monkey, and Rooster built a raft and got to shore together. Dog was so busy playing in the water that he almost forgot about the race. And, finally, Pig was just so lazy that he came in last. I am still working on the final three.