In Taizo Yamamoto: Carts, Hedges, Lions, three series of intricate graphite drawings depict, with arresting realism, real-world examples of assembled, grown, and built objects common to distinct milieus of Vancouver: the shopping carts piled high with belongings that clatter along sidewalks in the downtown core; the long, high hedges that insulate single-family homes from the din of arterial traffic; and the sculptural lions placed for good luck atop fenceposts in front of many homes, especially on the city’s east side.

In creating snapshots and then laborious drawings of these objects, author and artist Taizo Yamamoto, the principal of Yamamoto Architecture, was driven by a fascination with how the recurrence of these seemingly mundane objects speaks to omnipresent issues of housing unaffordability, densification, and the aspirations of diasporic communities.

New essays and fiction from Aaron Peck, author of Jeff Wall: North & West (2015), Giller Prize–nominated author Kevin Chong (The Double Life of Benson Yu, 2023), and Jackie Wong, senior editor of The Tyee, engage the work through prose.

Acquired by Editorial Director Michael Leyne. Releasing Fall 2024.