Faculty of Art

Drawing and Painting

Isaak Fong

"Five Deadly Venoms"

oral story telling, reciprocal shearing, and offerings of tea and flowers to my class.

“I wanted to tell stories like the ones I heard growing up while sipping tea at my grandparents. I structured a score around the Chinese Kung Fu film 'Five Deadly Venoms' (1978) dir. By. Chang Cheh, the Five Deadly Poisons are the: Lizard(spider), snake, centipede, scorpion, and toad. Each animal was associated with an action and a story. Score (personal notes): 1. Lizard Action: Silently observing as if “pondering” the ink drawing (lizard) – remove/roll up into a scroll – and hide2. SnakeAction: The transferring of liquid water from one vessel to another and plugging in the kettle to boil the water. Ask the audience what Kind of tea they would like to drink: White (green case) or Dark (Red Case). Put tea into Coffee pot.Story: First the story of Oma and the Allan and the Snow Snakes. My Great Aunt falling from a tree, The Corn snake > across from Oma and Allan > Luke (link to Centipede)3. CentipedeAction: with white tiger shirt (double trouble shirt: when I was little this is what me and my sister/friends would call it when you put a short sleeve over a long sleeve shirt) As water boils, pet the sheep fur.Story: My childhood friend Luke and his pet centipede, the story of Demon the Cat walking through the halls of my elementary and drawing tigers for my grandfather in the hospital. The replacing of the cat with the sheep fur (story of the sheep fur from the Calgary farmers market and relationships to herding and sheep dogs (who all got run over) replaced by alpacas). 4. ScorpionAction: The Scorpion = thorns > the handing out of dried flowers and roses to classmates. If there is enough an act of reciprocity like how you can never leave Sunday night dinner without some type of gift from grandma, if not enough flowers then: I would ask for that which was given and give to another in order to replicate the object or gift-based conflicts that me and my sister would fight over when we were little, often at my grandparents.Story: Story of wildflowers and being homesick for Alberta, to retell how my mother told me ways to appreciate Toronto and the city/its flowers/and architecture, be focused on the surroundings of the city of Toronto and the Rose bushes in people's front yard gardens. (only wild roses back home)5. ToadAction: Pouring Tea for those who want it.Story: My father's student election in middle school. The persistence of my Uncle Ming to work hard for his dream of becoming a lawyer (taking his exams for years) and his commitment to a personal idea of justice. My Aunts poster made for my father, it was a yellow poster with a drawing of a big Toad/Frog on it, with the phrase 'I may be yellow, - But I’m no coward!'”