The etymology of the noun “luck” appeared quite late in language history, around the late 15th century, when it entered the English language via Low German as a gambling term meaning “destiny or fortune.” While Europeans were scraping around for a solid word with which to define kismet, the Chinese character 福Fú meaning “fortune” or “good luck” had already been scribbled and whispered for millennia. The Fú concept is deeply embedded in Chinese culture and is intimately tied to the color red. Mounted and printed Fú are ubiquitous images during Chinese New Year and offer bright scarlet flashes of hopeful wishes at the entrances to Chinese homes around the world. When displayed as a Chinese ideograph, Fú is most commonly displayed upside down, as the inverted 福 is pronounced almost exactly like the phrase, “good luck arrives.” Unfortunately for the English language, turning “luck” upside down only produces gibberish. Should’ve built some cosmic insurance into the Roman alphabet when we had the chance.
| ARTIST |  |
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Liu Dao 六岛 |
| MEDIA | |
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RGB LED display, acrylic painting, paper collage, teakwood frame |
| EDITION | |
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Unique |
| DATE | |
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Made in island6, Shanghai 2015 |
| SIZE | |
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48(W)×67(H)×5(D) cm |
To see more information:
http://www.island6.org/FlamingFlippedFortunes.html
