Influenced by airplanes’ loud noises, artist Lee Yi-hsun created “Legend of Zhen Yin Shou” situated in Ming Yi Elementary School based on the idea of “yāshèngwù”.
Yāshèngwù is an object used by traditional Chinese society to ward off evil spirits. In this artwork, round and whimsically auspicious zhen yin shou with whale-ish heads, lizard-ish eyes, cat-ish ears, a dolphin-ish body, a fishy back, bird-like wings, and a foxlike tail are introduced. The zhen yin shou love to play with children, are fascinated by wonderful music and children’s laughter, and hate noises. They will repel objects that create noise until the sounds disappear.
The school introduces the aforementioned fable into its curriculum and incorporates mosaic art into its aesthetic education, developing students’ art competence that fulfill the functions and “tasks” of public art.
明義國民小學鄰近高雄小港國際機場，每日飛機起飛降落時所產生巨大的噪音，影響著師生與在地居民的生活環境。因此，藝術家李億勳以「厭勝物」為發想創作出公共藝術《鎮音獸傳奇》。
所謂「厭勝物」為傳統漢人社會中，用來剋制沖煞的器物，依字義為「壓伏而制勝」，有避邪制煞之意。造型圓潤可愛的鎮音獸，是「頭似鯨、眼似蜥、耳似貓、體似豚、背似魚、翅似鳥、尾似狸」之吉祥瑞獸，生性喜愛與兒童相伴戲耍，酷愛美妙音樂與兒童笑聲，唯對各種噪音非常容易感到憤怒，會驅趕發出噪音之物直至安靜為止。
校方不但將此寓言故事延伸引用至教案課程，更將馬賽克發展為校本課程進行美感教育，培養學生藝術知能，充分發揮公共藝術的功能及任務。
作品名稱：鎮音獸傳奇 Legend of Zhen Yin Shou
作者：李億勳Yi-Hsun Lee
創作年份：2007
材質尺寸：RC水泥、磁磚 / 140x60x55cm
設置地點：高雄市小港區明義國民小學