Chinese Vampire: Custom BE@RBRICK by Keithing for Into The Darkness @ 1AM (June 5)
My personal journey into "vampirism" and "zombies" begun from cinematic and television influences - stemming from a childhood growing up in an Asian-environment (specifically Chinese), and before I discovered disco dancing decaying corpses, or even Count Dracula, and eventual suave undead blood-suckers from the Western regions ("Lost Boys" being one of my teenhood vamp-staples :p) - there were the hopping undead - "Jiang Shi"-style! (僵尸) aka Chinese Zombie-vampires dressed in traditional ancient court gowns - scared the beejeezus out of me! And the only way to stop them in their tracks - is to stick a yellow slip of paper talisman to their forehead!
So when Keithing aka Keith Poon dropped this Chinese Vampire BE@RBRICK custom into my mailbox, it brought back a flood of memories, and a smile. No doubt hopping it's way across the seas to 1AM Gallery in San Francisco for the June 5th launch of Into The Darkness [tagged] - CLICK THRU for a full view of the custom piece (as well as a "bonus" video :p)!
"Generally in the movies the jiang shi are dressed in imperial Qing Dynasty clothes, their arms permanently outstretched due to rigor mortis. Like those depicted in Western movies, they tend to appear with an outrageously long tongues and long razor sharp black fingernails. They can be evaded by holding one's breath, as they track living creatures by detecting their breathing. They are blind, and lack knowledge. Because it usually takes decades for a unattended resentful corpse to become a Jiang Shi, they are usually depicted wearing attires that are identifiable with the previous dynasty. Their modern visual depiction as horrific Qing Dynasty officials is because most depictions of Jiang shi are set in the modern era." [wiki]
Bonus video: Mr Vampire (1985) - English-dubbed (Part 2):
So when Keithing aka Keith Poon dropped this Chinese Vampire BE@RBRICK custom into my mailbox, it brought back a flood of memories, and a smile. No doubt hopping it's way across the seas to 1AM Gallery in San Francisco for the June 5th launch of Into The Darkness [tagged] - CLICK THRU for a full view of the custom piece (as well as a "bonus" video :p)!
"Generally in the movies the jiang shi are dressed in imperial Qing Dynasty clothes, their arms permanently outstretched due to rigor mortis. Like those depicted in Western movies, they tend to appear with an outrageously long tongues and long razor sharp black fingernails. They can be evaded by holding one's breath, as they track living creatures by detecting their breathing. They are blind, and lack knowledge. Because it usually takes decades for a unattended resentful corpse to become a Jiang Shi, they are usually depicted wearing attires that are identifiable with the previous dynasty. Their modern visual depiction as horrific Qing Dynasty officials is because most depictions of Jiang shi are set in the modern era." [wiki]
