“The blessing of the big fish” is a brand new piece of public art installation that Tainan City’s Tourism Bureau has commissioned renowned artist Yang Shih-Yi to construct at the Historic Harborside Park next to the Anping Canal. Running 23 meters long, 10 meters wide and 8 meters high, the upper half of the whale is made up of 3,714 stainless steel pipes welded together without the use of a single bolt to keep the contours pure; the image of Taiwan within the whale comprises 634 steel pipes put together in the same way, decorated with 448 pieces of glazed glasses in different colors to recreate the island of Taiwan to embody the island’s inclusiveness and fascinating qualities. The art installation weighs over 20 metric tons and the bottom half of the installation makes ingenious use of the whale’s body contours to support the weight without requiring vertical columns. Not only that, visitors can even climb a flight of stairs to get into the “tummy” of the whale to enjoy the view of the sea and sunset. There are three specific angles and positions that one can best experience the beauty and ingenuity of the art work: 1. Stand at the ground floor and look up at the base of the island of Taiwan that is made up of the 448 pieces of glazed glasses as a gesture of gratitude and respect for the island; 2. Go to the 2nd floor inside the whale and look at the island of Taiwan from above, as a gesture of appreciation and 3. Take a look at everyone else around you and come to the realization that as we live on the same island, we ought to treat each other kindly, just as Taiwan has treated us.
