In the Emotionary, this painting is filed under the emotion: Hopeful.

Artist’s Statement

The title of the piece, ‘年年有鱼’ (nian nian you yu), is a Mandarin greeting that directly translates to ‘every year there is fish’. This greeting is often said during the Lunar New Year and refers to a Chinese tradition to not finish your fish dish on New Year’s Eve, leaving a surplus by the end of the year to better prepare for the following year. The expression is a play on words, as the word ‘鱼’ (yu) meaning ‘fish’ and ‘余’ (yu) meaning ‘surplus’ sound the same.

The fish depicted in this piece is an Asian Arowana, also known as a Dragon Fish due to its resemblance to the Chinese dragon, the kind you might have seen in the aquariums of fancy Chinese restaurants and businesses. The variant I painted is a red Arowana, using vibrant red pocket reds to emphasize its value and glowing yellows to highlight the shiny coin-like scales on its body as the Arowana is a symbol of good luck, wealth, and prosperity in my culture. It is also sometimes believed that the Arowana can understand its owner’s thoughts and feelings and would even sacrifice its life to protect its owner. The fish is wrapped in a red string bracelet, a symbol of protection in Chinese culture as strong efforts have been made to conserve the endangered species.

My artwork aims to express feelings of safety, gratitude, and hope. As this year has been a difficult time for many Asian communities, it is important to reflect on what we are thankful for and embrace the hope for a better new year. 年年有鱼 serves as a metaphor for the preservation of our culture despite the hardships we face.

Biography

Kenya is a 17-year-old Chinese Canadian hobby artist. She works in both digital and traditional art mediums and is still trying to find her niche as an artist. She enjoys coding, playing video games, and listening to classic and alternative rock music in her free time. She hopes to study both engineering and fine art in the future.