Why Dragons?
Dragons touch something in everyone. Lurking in the depths of our collective imagination dragons trigger our primal and innermost feelings. Since time immemorial dragons have haunted the dreams and visions of people of all cultures. Creatures of mystery, alternately benevolent and malevolent, dragons embody universal truths which reverberate in the soul. Understanding the dragon can enhance one's life and provide a vehicle for global understanding, mutual evolution and care for our environment.

How did the idea arise?
During a trip to Asia in 1994 Amanta and David were in Hong Kong gazing out over the mountains of Kowloon. Kowloon means "nine dragons". Their thoughts came to rest upon the contradictory and mysterious nature of dragons worldwide. Amanta and David wondered: what does the dragon mean in today's world? What would happen if an eastern dragon met a western dragon? The dragon quest began.


How were the sculptures made?
The dragon sound sculptures were created entirely out of found objects culled from rubbish heaps and recycle centres in Japan and Canada.

The breast of the eastern dragon is created from 165 stainless steel plates, in his belly growls an enormous meat grinder cone; bicycle rims and rice pots form the vertebrae of this dragon and 30 stainless steel mixing bowls adorn his arms. Intimately acquainted with water and air the spine of the Eastern dragon is formed by four windsurfer wish-bones upon which hang a beautiful array of bells, previously the inner-bowls of rice-cookers.

The western dragon’s silver mane is a diverse collection of knives, forks, spoons and chains; her skull: three bicycle baskets wrapped in fur. Her breath is noxious as her jaw was once a mud-caked motorcycle fender, her venomous tongue; a necktie. With a taste for fine wine her nostrils originate from sake goblets, her gleaming truck mirror eyes glitter with visions of past and present. Her enormous bat-like wings were once a satellite dish; and antiquated record-turntables grace her undulating tail, tipped with pitch-forks.


For what age range is this work appropriate?
Dragon Tango is ideal for event programming and suitable for all ages. Visit our Press Gallery for comments from visitors of all ages, presenters, curators and the media.


What language is used in the performance?
Art, music and performance are universal languages. There are no language barriers because there is no spoken text in Dragon Tango.


How do people respond to Dragon Tango?
Audiences of all ages enjoy Dragon Tango. The first thing kids say when they see the dragons is usually: “Awesome!   Cool!     Wow!    Amazing!”

Audiences return again to see Dragon Tango. In Singapore a number of viewers came to see all ten performances. Viewers remark: “it stirred my soul”.

Adults and children alike are equally transfixed during these enchanting sonic and visual encounters. Dragon Tango draws upon mythic and archetypal imagery. Primal symbols embody universal truths which resonate in people of all ages and cultures. Visit our Press Gallery for comments from visitors of all ages, presenters, curators and the media.

Adult audiences, stimulated by this synthesis of differing art forms, appreciate the more sophisticated elements; the many tangents open to exploration entice one to reflect upon the allegories and multiple layers of meaning encompassed by the works. These works are living archeological exhibits which stimulate discussion.

Teenagers relate to the connections between the Dragon and environmental, political, cultural and social issues. Dragon Tango is also an example of creative recycling and encourages a personal responsibility to the planet as a living organism.

Grade school children respond physically and emotionally: bopping and grooving to pulsating rhythms; grinning, laughing, taunting and then cowering from the performers. Children relate to issues of creative recycling, environmental protection and cultural tolerance.

Performances are not recommended for children under the age of four. The towering sound sculpture, the performers and the unusual sounds can seem frightening. However, these youngsters are often curious and enjoy exploring the sculptures during the Audience Interaction Sessions.

What is Dragon Tango about?
In performance, two magical spirits weave a spell upon dragons battling for control of the world. A dramatic tango of peace and passion, harmony and discord ensues. Dragon Tango may be seen as an environmental work, symbol of personal recovery; social change; positive and negative action in the world; the recurrent circles of life and death. Or simply be regarded as a fantastic magical creature in a spectacular entertaining contemporary art experience. The "meaning" of the work is totally open. Nor does it matter if it means anything at all. What does matter is that it makes people feel . . . that it has an impact. And it does.


What is the difference between an eastern dragon and a western dragon?
Breathe the word "dragon" and a fantastical creature is conjured in the minds of people everywhere. The eastern dragon is generally thought of as the “good dragon”, the bringer of rains and symbol of transformation, transmogrifying rice into gold, etc.; while  the western dragon is perceived as the “evil dragon”; devouring beautiful maidens, symbolic of pollution and destruction. Just as the Taoist principle of Yin~Yang refers to opposing yet inseparable aspects: light~dark, positive~negative, perhaps the neither dragon can exist without its counterpart.

Western Dragon: Notorious for burning the crops, devouring cattle, demanding sacrificial maidens and battling with knights, the evil fire-breathing western dragon flies through the air on huge bat-like wings and lives in a cave deep in the earth, hoarding treasures. Valiant knights endeavor to slay a dragon in order to prove their virtue, rescue the maiden and restore harmony to the world. In Dragon Tango the rapacious western dragon is also the guardian of fire and earth.

Eastern Dragon: lives in a jeweled underwater palace and in the absence of wings flies through the air by climbing the clouds, bestowing blessings on the virtuous and punishing the wicked. It is said that if iron and filth are thrown into a pond angry dragons will raise hurricanes. Regarded as a guardian of water and air the eastern dragon is revered and feared for its propensity to send rains, floods or hurricanes.

How did Dragon Tango evolve?
In 1996 Artistic Directors Amanta Scott and David Tomlinson became the first Canadian artists to receive an Artist Fellowship Award fromThe Japan Foundation. This award included an airline ticket enabling them to circumnavigate the globe and study dragons worldwide prior to settling in Japan to create Dragon Tango. The artists traveled through Germany, France, Spain, Holland, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Austria, Greece, Italy, Great Britain, India, Australia, Taiwan, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, China, Japan, Hong Kong and North America.

Living and working on a mountain plateau in the foothills of Mount Fuji, for seven months their home consisted of a one room hut on the edge of the mountain with their open-air studio in a farmer's garden high above the clouds in Japan.

In Tokyo they collected objects at three different recycling centres, excavating for objects whose shape, texture and/or sound would serve to illuminate the various themes of Dragon Tango. Navigating the roads in a small van, the artists' nearest collection site was a rural centre where they found much of the farm machinery, bicycle parts and kimonos. An industrial recycling centre was their main source for armature materials for the dragon skeletons. In an urban recycling centre they found the stainless-steel salad plates for the eastern dragon's breastplate as well as stacks of futon mattresses from which they cut many of the beautiful fabrics covering the various drums on the sculptures.

Dragon Tango was invited to the Ehime Cultural Festival on Shikoku Island.  Dragon Tango was exhibited in the Hijikawa Wind Museum, home to a collection of 1500 dragon sculptures and images. Mercedes Benz Japan sponsored the presentation of Dragon Tango in Ehime, Shikoku. Dragon Tango was later presented at Canadian Embassy in Tokyo attracting considerable media attention across Japan. Dragon Tango even featured in the Kanji edition of Playboy Magazine(fully clothed)!

After exhibitions and performances in Japan, Amanta and David, returned to Canada without the dragons. Due to the kind efforts of Peter Oldham and Louis Hamel, the dragons spent a year and a half snoozing in the garden of the Canadian Embassy in Tokyo. Eventually the dragons arrived in Canada, a little ragged and tattered after their long dusty sleep and a lengthy ocean voyage.

Once in Canada, Amanta and David redesigned the western dragon to incorporate the many western objects at their disposal. Collecting objects from four different rural dumps; they sculpted for an additional three months. A satellite dish became the western dragon's enormous bat-like wings and a visit to a chain factory inspired her glittering necklace of scrap-chain adorned with silver knives and forks.

Leading Tone Arts Productions presented Dragon Tango at Market Hall, Peterborough to 4500 students of the Peterborough Board of Education; and at the Academy Theatre, Lindsay, to 1700 students of the Victoria County Board of Education.

In 1998 Dragon Tango was the featured exhibition at the Edmonton Art Gallery and returned to Asia for exhibition in the Singapore International Arts Festival ‘98. Dragon Tango went on to become the main exhibition at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, Ontario, during the 1998/99 holiday season.


What is the connection between myth & garbage?
For the artists, delving into the depths of myth is akin to an archaeological dig into the soul. As they comb through the rubbish of a society they learn about the soul of a culture.

Bill Moyers wrote, in The Power of Myth, "Remnants of mythology line the walls of the psyche, like shards of broken pottery in an archaeological site."

In an archaeological dig, one of the most illuminating finds is the Midden, the rubbish heap. The Midden enables archeologists to flesh out an image of the civilization under discovery. A present day Midden or landfill site paints a complex picture of our world today. Ancient myths have little place in today's world; the same is true for garbage. Amanta and David aim to encourage a revaluation of both. The artists had no idea, when they embarked on this quest, that they would find themselves feeling quite so passionately about the environment. They are increasingly saddened and infuriated to discover just how irresponsible and wasteful is society worldwide.


Why is mythology relevant?
In the words of Joseph Campbell: "Myths are clues to the spiritual potentialities of human life". An awareness of ancient myth enables one to see its relevance to something happening in one's own life.

Mulling over the bones of the past, artists Amanta Scott and David Tomlinson explore parallel global mythologies and the connection of myth to our contemporary world. Their work is a study of our past and present through mythology, archaeology, installation and performance. Since 1991 their syncretic art exhibitions have focused on mythological themes and archetypal images recreated through rubbish. Visit our mythology section to discover the many dragon legends from around the world.

Has travel influenced the work?
Yes, considerably. Transversing the globe for more than a decade, has led Amanta and David to consider the commonalties between cultures.

The artists have become intrigued with universal symbols and archetypal images which trigger primal feelings, shared everywhere. Through installation and performance, their work examines the political, spiritual, psychological, environmental and/or social significance of parallel global symbols and mythologies.

Selecting images and symbols common to two or more cultures, the artists do not impose any one meaning upon a given symbol but rather invite viewers to find their own meaning in the work before them.

What is Syncretic Art?
Syncretic art is the fusion of disparate elements.
The term Syncretic Art was first applied to the work of Amanta Scott and David Tomlinson in Japan. Their work not only integrates disparate conceptual elements but also visual art; audio, video, music - percussion and voice; theatre; movement; mythology and contemporary archaeology.

Syncretic: characterized by syncretism; aiming at a union or reconciliation of diverse beliefs, practices or systems.

Syncretism: attempted union or reconciliation of diverse or opposite tenets or practices, especially in philosophy or religion; specifically the system or principles of a school founded in the 17th century by George Callixtus who aimed at harmonizing the sects of Protestants and ultimately all Christian bodies. [Oxford International Dictionary of the English Language.]

"Syncretism" was also used by Joseph Campbell when referring to the worship of the Goddess as both monotheistic and polytheistic. That is, worshipped under different names and forms but essentially one transcending entity.