A chef from Chiayi County joined devotees in this year’s Dajia Matsu Pilgrimage with unusual religious icons adorning his bicycle.
The icons were so fragile that he rode at night to minimize the risk of collision with other devotees, said Kuo Yu-jui (郭禹睿), the self-described chef-artist.
While on the road, he had to keep a bicycle level at all times to prevent the icons from tipping over, which made the journey exhausting, he said.
Photo: Lin I-chang, Taipei Times
The precious cargo, encased in a glass case mounted on the front of the bicycle, were statues of Matsu and her guards, Qianliyan and Shunfenger, that Kuo made last year from cornflakes.
Kuo said that making art, especially creating religious icons from food items, has been a passion of his, and that he previously made statues from shrimp shells.
Kuo said that making this year’s statues proved to be technically challenging.
The cornflakes had to be handpicked according to color and shape, Kuo said, adding that he used a hair dryer to form the ripples that made the folds in the robes of Matsu and her guards.
Kuo said that he is taking part in the pilgrimage because he had prayed for Matsu’s blessings for the artwork at Jennlann Temple (鎮瀾宮) in Taichung’s Dajia District (大甲), vowing to make the pilgrimage if he was successful.
His journey began on Friday last week and by Tuesday he had arrived at Fengtian Temple (奉天宮) in Chiayi’s Singkang Township (新港), Kuo said.
The chef said that he had experienced several close calls along the way.
Heavy rain on Sunday threatened to soak the statues, but the glass box he used to protect them held up, Kuo said.
Another threat was potholes, one of which he drove into on Wednesday, Kuo said.
The impact broke an arm of one of the statues, but he was able to repair the damage with glue, he said.
It is the first time he was undertaking the pilgrimage, Kuo said, adding that the challenges of keeping the statues safe had been trying, but encouragement from other devotees had kept him going.
“I am moved by the power of faith,” Kuo said.
At Fengtian Temple, Kuo’s statues drew a crowd of spectators, including temple president He Ta-huang (何達煌), who praised the icons and encouraged Kuo to continue his work.
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