Cheung’s Food Mart
Cheung’s Food Market is one half of a two-part artwork that highlights Surrey’s agrarian past.
Artists: Ken Lum
Location: 133 St & Old Yale Road
Category: Private collection
Developer: Century City Parkside Properties
Year Installed: 2024
About Fruit Stand
Cheung’s Food Market is one half of a two-part artwork that highlights Surrey’s agrarian past. Although the number of animal and produce farms has declined, the City's agricultural history has remained evident. This artwork, on King George Boulevard, is a scaled-down replica of Cheung’s Food Market which operated in Cloverdale from 1968 to 2008. The other half of the artwork is entitled Fruit Stand; a recreation of a common in site in agricultural communities.
These artworks recall a time with a simpler and more direct relationship to food and grocery shopping, in contrast to the big box stores we see today. The artwork highlights the importance of community, past and present. Lum often includes the owner's name in his works, showing the diverse ethnic and racial backgrounds of the Fraser Valley. The sculptures are detailed and contrast old farming buildings with new, dense developments, reflecting the ongoing changes in the economy and population.
About the Artist
Ken Lum is an acclaimed artist known for his diverse works in painting, sculpture, and photography. Lum’s public art explores themes of identity and historical trauma, evident in commissions worldwide. He has worked on numerous permanent public art commission including for the cities of Bienna, Rotterdam, St. Louis, Leiden, Utrecht, Toronto and Vancouver. He currently chairs the Fine Arts department at the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Design in Philadelphia. He co-founded Yishu: Journal of Contemporary Chinese Art and regularly publishes articles, catalogue essays and juried papers.
Aside from art, Lum contributes to architectural and curatorial projects, including designing public spaces like Huron Square in Toronto Chinatown. Lum holds an honorary doctorate from his undergraduate alma mater, Simon Fraser University. He has received a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Hnatynshyn Foundation Visual Arts Award and is a Penn Institute of Urban Research Fellow.
