Yue Lao - God of Matchmaking and Marriage

Winner of Fremantle Print Award 2023

Finalist The 67th Blake Prize, NSW, 2022 

I still practice tearing a page off the Chinese calendar every morning. Historically, the Chinese calendar was used to note dates and times and guide agricultural activities. Today, this mass produced and economically printed pages are packed with information for entertainment value to attract sales. Information ranges from noting best position to win a mahjong game, compatibility chart to assist with friendship, lucky numbers for lottery predictions and 2 hourly instructions of auspicious and inauspicious activities. Yue Lao is an old learned Chinese mythological cupid. He is believed to be immortal, and his focus is finding the perfect marriage matches for people. Our contemporary society engages in matchmaking apps and TV programs to look for prospective suitors but some believe the selection of auspicious wedding date is a very serious and prudent matter. This deconstructed calendar of woven strips into a soft sculptural piece depicts an imaginary mythological deity that some romantics still pray to him. 

Photos by Pixel Poetry Photography and Sean Breadsell