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Ancient cultures combine for Port Coquitlam art show

Chinese paintings and ceramic art will mix with Islamic calligraphy in an art show that opens Thursday at Port Coquitlam’s Leigh Square Community Arts Village.
art
Calligraphy by Tami S.H. Djuya

Chinese paintings and ceramic art will mix with Islamic calligraphy in an art show that opens Thursday at Port Coquitlam’s Leigh Square Community Arts Village.

The Tao of Clay and Paper combines the talents of artists Jennifer Po, Tami S.H. Djuya, Elsie Lai Chong Lee, Rainbow Chiu and Susanna Wong. 

And on Saturday from 4 to 6 p.m., they will be in the gallery to talk about their unique pieces, which will be displayed until Jan. 11.

Po, a Chinese immigrant, brings Eastern and Western ideologies to her clay work while Lee, Chiu and Wong present Chinese painting and calligraphy brushworks, which contrasts with Djuya, who draws modern and abstract styles for her Islamic calligraphy.

One of her 18 pieces in exhibit is titled Kashf (meaning Explore), a work created to honour Mariam Al-Astrolabiya, a famous Syrian scientist who designed and constructed Astrolabes.

Djuya said while Chinese and Islamic art differs, the concepts are the same. “We are showing the beauty and philosophy of ancient cultures through our artwork,” she wrote in an email to The Tri-City News. “Our artworks are not only beautiful but it has deep meaning to it. It expresses man’s relationship to everything especially the struggle with inner self and the beauty to nature.”

Djuya, who trained at Emily Carr University of Art + Design and at the Port Moody Arts Centre, said she only met the other artists in the group show this past summer after being introduced by city staff.

And she hopes Tao will go on tour and the group will continue to show together in the future.

jwarren@tricitynews.com
@jwarrenTC