Located by The Pier-2 Art Center bike lanes, Chores of Guan Gong introduces a nerve-racking image of a stern-looking Guan Gong pointing his sword at a red monster with sharp fangs. This surreal scene is thought-provoking and urges visitors to ponder upon the symbolic meaning of the red monster.
Artist Chang Nai-wen often raises conflicting and controversial issues, where he sometimes introduces and reconstructs historical figures that ridicule and reflect upon our social reality. Chores of Guan Gong was made for FORMOSA Sculpture Biennial 2013, when Chang painted the picture of Guan Gong facing a giant monster as a metaphor for the hegemony in Taiwan. This statue of Guan Gong, which is a site-specific art, is a calm presence both in color and overall “disposition,” a stark contrast to the bright red and exaggerated shapes of the monster, creating a visitor experience that deviates from those of traditional artwork.