Multi-Media Paintings

Shanghai, China: Old Wood New Series

These paintings were made in Shanghai, China in 2004. The series is titled "Old Wood New" as they were made using window and door frames from old French houses that were being torn down in the area of the city known as the French Concession. 

I collected the frames from the construction sites because they were being sent outside of the city to a location to be burned. I thought this was a waste of some very historical items, so I stripped the frames, painted them, and then laid in vintage advertising posters on wood panels where the glass used to be, converting them into artworks. I left the hinges, latches, and eyelets on (used by former Chinese occupants to hang laundry lines) as they are part of the narrative about the history and change taking place in China.