A cartoon in three-dimensional form, Paris-based Chinese expatriate Wang Du’s recent exhibition at Vancouver Art Gallery took the form of a misshapen array of bellicose and lascivious golems cultivated from Chinese military propaganda, Internet porn, and the Western print media. Titled “Parade,” it was timely and well placed, the port of Vancouver being a gateway to Asia that, like North America as a whole, confronts the rising economic behemoth of China with a mixture of anticipation and anxiety.

Du uses polyester resin and acrylic to flesh out his pop-cultural sources and often introduces