Wandering Sheep
PROJECT OVERVIEW
"Wandering Sheep" featured 10 sheep constructed of molded, handmade paper and installed on various platforms around Chinatown Park. The sheep served as the inaugural work for an annual rotational exhibit inspired by the animal signs of the Chinese zodiac on The Greenway. For The Greenway’s Chinatown Park, the Sheep reflect the changing urban environment by playfully interacting with both the traditional Chinese culture and modern architecture that coexist in this location. The Sheep invite the inhabitants of the Chinatown Park to play and wander somewhere unexpected together. Originally from Korea, at the age of four Oh moved to Japan with his family as illegal immigrants. These experiences as a minority in Japan and the struggle of establishing identity as an illegal immigrant are reflected in the objects Oh creates: they are full of personality and searching for belonging. A lovely oasis at the southern end of the Greenway, Chinatown Park is a one-acre linear park containing design elements drawn from Asian traditions and art work. Designed by Carol R. Johnson and Associates, it contains a serpentine walkway edged by bamboo within bright red sculptural elements and a unique fountain that suggests a waterfall and shallow riverbed. A modern garden displays plants representative of the natural and created cultural landscape of Asia. The rhododendrons, cherry trees, irises, peonies, and chrysanthemums bloom with bountiful color during the year. Grasses, bamboo, and trees provide texture and structure year round. Boston’s Chinatown is the only historically surviving Chinese area in New England since the demise of Chinatown in Providence, Rhode Island after the 1950’s.