Annual Report of 2020 Exhibition by Absolute Space for the Arts.

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D iv e rs e C o n te mporary Art Experiment s –with A b so lu te Space f or t heArt s as an Example b y S h en -H u a Cheng T h e S p ac e , P e ople, Concept s, and Time –A b s o lu te S p ace f or t he Art s in 2020 b y Ts u n g -Yu Tsai

Ma th , E mp ty Can by Wei- Chen Chen

20 2 0 N ex t A rt Tainan: Uneven Parel by I- Chen Kuo an d Z i-Yin C h en

E xtra Ord in a ry Human by M u- Jen Lu, Tsung- Yu Tsai an d J in S h i

T h e D iamo n d that is Raindrops by Ya- Hui Wang

L a n d s c a p e R emains by Jo- M ei Lee

Jo u rn al o f Vis it ed Light by Po- Yen Wang, Tzu- Huan L in an d T zu -A n Wu

Mo o n lig h t Ov er t he Island Af f ect s People Wat ching th e S e a b y To ng- Chiao Chuang

Family Recipes: Mother's Forest by Ping-Yu Pang

Diverse Contemporary Art Experiments –with Absolute Space for the Arts as an Example By Shen-Hua Cheng Looking back at 2020, all developments across the globe were overshadowed by the outbreak of Covid-19. Besides changes in personal life styles, the pandemic has also impacted the psychological and mental states of every single person. Although the pandemic will eventually peak, more than five million people are already known to have died of Covid-19 worldwide. From the outbreak at the end of 2019 to the end of 2021, nations around the world have strived to find the best prevention measures while simultaneously accelerating vaccine development and vaccination coverage. With all the damages and deaths brought by Covid-19, the epidemic has indeed been the greatest impact to human civilization of the century. With the spread of the pandemic followed a series of border shutdowns. The decrease of international mobility has impacted every single dimension of contemporary life from political, business, economic, to cultural affairs. The strike of the pandemic is no doubt deadly to the art world, which has already been at the fringe of all human activities and business structures. It has been particularly hard for contemporary performance artists with the low KPI of the

industry as its audience has always been relatively scarce. Therefore, people have been asking the following questions: How can the contemporary art world survive the public’s lack of willingness to attend events that demand physical presence? How should we respond to this trend? How can we properly adjust ourselves in the present global context and respond to our ever changing audience? Here, I would like to look into the case of Absolute Space for the Arts, which has been an important observation point in Taiwan’s contemporary art world. In 2020, the art space had organized eight exhibitions along with more than 20 lectures and events. Four sessions of the event “Come to My Place” have bridged artists around the world with local artists. More than thirty events have been held by the art space. Its diverse strategies in artistic management and operations are both contemporary and experimental; hence, the aftereffects are certainly noteworthy. Overall, the events can be categorized into themes as follows: Video and Photo Images of Humanity Under the Pandemic

Left: The opening ofMath, Empty Can Right: The opening of Landscape Remains.

Art is nothing more than expressions concerning human existence. This is particularly true to an oppressed and distorted world. Through contemporary art creations and experiments, all subtle aspects of an ordinary life are reflecting the human and cultural situations of the present. In the exhibition The Diamond is Raindrop by Ya-Hui Wang, the artist extended the time, emotions, and metaphorical themes into images she has long been processing. Inspired by a poem by the Japanese poet Shuntaro Tanikawa, Wang presented a time loop based on ordinary images of everyday life in an introspective manner as refined as a poem. Fragment details of our ordinary life were delivered in poetic images full of rich metaphors. As the epidemic heated up by the second half of 2020, all daily routines, international exchanges, and rhythms of life have slowed down or even come to a sudden halt. How should the art world respond to the drastic changes of life? Jhen-Kai Wang, The curator of Journal of Visited Light sensed the shifts of contemporary collective behaviors,

a n d i n v i t e d a r t i s t s P o - Ye n Wa n g , T z u Huan Lin, and Tzu-An Wu to join the trio exhibition. The artists have long been s t a t i o n e d i n N e w Yo r k , a n d s p e c i a l i z e in computer animation, experimental movie, and video art respectively. In the exhibition space, the artists took light as the leading element to express, transform, and connect the video observations and writings they collected in their journey. Observations on Contemporary Art In the solo exhibition Math, Empty Can, artist Wei-Chen Chen proposed a reconstruction of perceptions and imagination towards the industrial products in our life. For most people, the presence of tiles, marble look vinyl floorings, and wood planks for furnishing are unobtrusive. When they were restructured in a building-like display in the exhibition, they stood as a minimal physical property in the space. T h e 2 0 2 0 N e x t A r t Ta i n a n A w a r d s – Uneven Parallel curated by Professor HuiLan Chang was based on the concept o f “1 + 1 , ” wh ic h a ime d t o c o mp a r e a n d contrast the different choice of art subjects

between different generations of artists from award winning artists to domestic and international guest artists. As one of the showgrounds for Next Tainan Awards, Absolute Space displayed the works of a w a r d w i n n i n g a r t i s t Z i - Yi n C h e n a n d g u e s t a r t i s t Yi - C h e n K u o . T h e f o r m e r specializes in venturing the relationship between perceptions and reality through video image installations, while the latter with similar creative background in technological media focuses on exploring the state of mind and life through new media. In ExtraOrdinary Human by Mu-Jen Lu, Tsung-Yu Tsai and Jin Shi, the three artists shared their thoughts on the special states of human existence through their chosen forms of art. Lu began with his own body a n d i l l ustr ated the p e o p le, th ings, a n d events he encountered in various media of painting. Tsai dug into the internal system of art and the knowledge system, capital market, and production system an artist bears. For Shi, she started out the quest from her own background, and depicted awkward but special humanoid silhouettes in her works. The Land, Memories, and Cultural Identities To pursue rapid economic developments, a g e d a n d w o r n p l a c e s i n Ta i w a n w e r e often swiftly removed and replaced. The loss and alteration of landscapes and memories have become a norm. Artist JuMei Li visualized the daily norms of the present contemporary world instead of the past in her solo exhibition Landscape R e mains. The id e a o f th e th e me ca me from the overnight removal of five betel nut trees that shared a close tie with Li’s life. The remains of the trees were scattered on the ground, and the remaining landscape no longer represents an extension of memories. The fragmented

scenery was transformed into copies of images feebly calling the past. If we connect this with the issues of “ h o m e , ” “ l a n d , ” a n d “ c u l t u r a l i d e n t i t y, ” artist Tong-Chiao Chuang also touched upon the discussion through the subject of living environment. Through installations, paintings, and other means of art expression in Moonlight Over the Island Affects People Watching the Sea, Chuang displayed his thoughts towards the living environment through coconut trees, betel nut trees, various objects and the natural condition along with social customs. For many students abroad, what really reminds them of home and memories of the past are usually the barely recognizable smells and tastes, particularly memories of food tastes buried d e e p d o w n i n o u r b o d y m e m o r y. A r t i s t Ping-Yu Pan had personally experienced this in her years of study in New York. Through several family recipes given by h e r m o t h e r, s h e w a s a b l e t o t r a c e h e r family memories through cousine. With a structure based on mythology, Pan made creative breakthroughs through bringing subtle nuances to the archetype. In Family Recipes: Mother's Forest, soft fabrics were the visual symbol for family experiences and the structure of mythological perceptions. Continuous Local and Interdisciplinary Connections Apart from exhibitions, 2020 ASA Salons were carried out through two dimensions: First, it was still grounded on its principles established in 2018, which aim to rediscover the local community and continue to draw public attention and exploration to Tainan’s local cultures and southern social issues. Through all the promotions, new topics and results w e r e g e n e r a t e d . S e c o n d l y, t o w a r d s

contemporary interdisciplinary practices a n d d e v e l o p m e n t s s u c h a s h i s t o r y, sociology, psychological analysis, medical science, and culture, the art space brought forth discussions concerning documenting, subject, body, and spirits. With such a wide range of topics, various sessions of ASA Salon have truly provided a rich choice of curriculums and events. Domestic and International Dialogues and Exchanges F i n a l l y, f o u r s e s s i o n s o f “ C o m e t o M y Place” brought together four contemporary artists (Chaong-Wen Ting, Sheng-Chien Hsiao, Jun-Yuan Hong, and Po-Yi Chen) from different fields across Taiwan to pair up with artists around world (Polish artist Wojciech, Dutch artist Jaime Ibanez, Spanish artist-researcher Esperanza Collado, and Canadian artist Liam Morgan) to engage in conversations and cultural exchanges that connected Taiwan with international art communities, generating new sparkles and possibilities of art. It’s hard to imagine how Absolute Space pulled together such a variety of art exhibitions and events so full of energy in a year with the limited space and resources it had. The events followed one after another with ongoing events happening nearly every single week. What kind of attitude or faith did it take for the space management to retain such tension and passion? What kind of art environment or requests from the art world does it reflect? In 2020, Absolute Space not only stayed true to its founding spirits of providing a platform for “exhibitions, exchanges, and documenting,” but also developed multiple strategies of art practices that keep up with the times. On one hand, it stands as an observer of contemporary art energies among art creators; on the other hand, it actively supports young art workers whose adventures are just about to begin.

As the art space strives to promote and facilitate local art network connections and collaborations, it also continues to call for the sharing of art experiences through international exchanges. This has both maintained the contemporary and experimental aspect of art, and achieved cross-disciplinary through fusions of art and artistic viewsheds. Such multivariate strategies respond to the contemporary a r t w o r l d ’s d e m a n d f o r a m o r e h o l i s t i c management, which has been quite a challenge for modern art galleries. International exchanges have almost shut down after 2020. When everyone stays home to prevent further spread of the pandemic, it becomes ever more challenging for art exhibitions and performances to involve their audience. This has put the majority of the art community in crisis. However, perhaps when all interactions and communications cease with connections and relations being isolated, the importance of art will once again surface amidst the gloom.

About Shen-Hua Cheng Wondering and pondering in the worlds of contemporary art philosophy, theories, and aestheticism, Cheng has gradually extended her specialty to research concerning the art world of Taiwan. She was shortlisted three t i m e s f o r D i g i t a l A r t F e s t i v a l Ta i p e i , a n d had won first prize in the 2nd Distinguished Doctoral Thesis for The Humanities and Sciences Award in the field of Philosophy. Cheng is the author of Artmaking: A Study on Nelson Goodman's Philosophy of Art (published by Chengchi University Press, 2013).

The Space, People, Concepts, and Time –Absolute Space for the Arts in 2020 By Tsung-Yu Tsai “What can we do with the space?” “How can we make space management interesting?” These are challenges most art space managers have come across in their work. As an observer who has visited the space quite a number of times, I can surely tell that from its opening till now, Absolute Space for the Arts has pushed exhibitions beyond pure exhibitions, held forums beyond simple forums, and activities beyond plain activities. Just as movie lovers will think that a 3-minute movie review cannot fully represent an entire movie, this year in review for Absolute Space can only look back to the year 2020 in a subjective and simplified manner. For people in the art world of Taiwan, the awkward scenario of having more than enough art activities but a lack sparkles with scant involvement of the public has probably been a common experience. For performance artists, it has always been a struggle to choose between popular social issues that link art with social reality in a field study manner, or concentrating on the inner state of an artist and art itself by keeping a distance with the world like a flâneur has always. 05

Concerning the struggle, Absolute Space had definitely made choices far from politically correct in its exhibition a r r a n g e m e n t s t h i s y e a r. B e s i d e s t h e science fictional imagery of outer space in “2020 Next Art Tainan Awards” curated with the Cultural Affairs Bureau, the space had presented artists’ personal o b s e rv a t io n s t o wa rd s ma t e ria l as p e c t s of life, capturing the gap between art expressions and actual objects. This began with Chen Wei-Chen’s Solo Exhibition- Math, Empty Can, in which ready-made objects were distorted, redefined and remade into novel displays, and was carried through ExtraOrdinary Human by Mu-Jen Lu, Tsung-Yu Tsai, and Jin Shi, in which the three artists brought extraordinary works full of personal styles t h a t w e r e f a r f r o m o r d i n a r y. N e x t , t h e poetic sensibility of Yahui Wang filled The Diamond That Is Raindrops with intricate details, bringing her ideology towards the relationship between time and artworks to life. In Moonlight Over the Island Affects People Watching the Sea by Tong-Chiao Chuang, even though an installation stood at the entrance of the exhibition, the rest of the space was filled with a poetic blankleaving design that subtly corresponds

to the blanks within the paintings of m o untai n, sea, island, fa rmland, bet e l nuts trees and palm trees chosen as symbols for home, land, and residential identity and even spiritual sanctuaries.

The opening artist' s talk of Journal of Visited Light.

Then, there was the Journal of Visited L i g h t , a t r i o b y P o - Ye n W a n g , T z u Huan Lin, and Tzu-An Wu. Having been s t a t i o n e d i n N e w Yo r k f o r q u i t e s o m e time, the three artists are specialized in 3D animation, experimental movie, and video art respectively. In the exhibition statement, the artists noted that “tourism is not only a series of visits completed by the human body, but also the observation and measuring of the visible light demonstrated by the human eyes.” In this manner, the media serves as tools for writing or making personal statements that creates a timely connection with t h e w o r l d e v e r y n o w a n d t h e n . L a t e r, Absolute Space ended the year with Family Recipes: Mother's Forest- PingYu Pan’s Solo Exhibition, in which the artist transformed her personal feelings and emotions with unique art expressions through the use of media. Although these creative consciences were led by the outside world, instead of illustrating

t h e r e a l i t y, t h e p r e s e n t a t i o n s o f t h e s e artworks challenged the audience to confront the language of art. Even in JoMei Li’s Landscape Remains that slightly followed historical facts, the exhibition wasn’t a simple display of field study information or teaching materials. Here among all the facts, I still recognized a careful arrangement that brings moments of sensibility towards the existence of individuals and objects. From time immemorial, it has been difficult to stay in the art business. As art itself is a quest and a breach for the displacements in and between the present and the future, artworks are capable of standing independently in their own art time zones. However, an art space has to face both reality and the public. This is often the hardest part of art space management. An art space has to be realistic (for people, particularly people who do not work in the space), and 06

have actual communications and thought exchanges with the outside world. Without connections with people outside, the existence of this very space would almost be like a place for inbreeding doomed to rust in ruins. Therefore, the space came up with events like “ASA Salon” and “Come to My Place,” so that besides exhibitions, the space would stay open for on-site exchanges of thoughts and ideas with warmth. Compared to exhibitions in 2020 that focused more on the artworks, ASA Salons were quite down to earth with all the classes held within Absolute Space. In the first half of the year, the themes of the salons surrounded the series “Walk Around Tainan,” bringing out questions concerning Nanshan Cemetery, Chuan Mei Theater, the Tainan Urban District Railway Underground Project, and the White Terror historical ruins. In all these “southern centered subjects” in terms of culture, ideology, and logics of curation, the salons were deeply bound up with the popular art subject of “interdisciplinary art.” The second half of ASA Salon 2020 were still grounded on the “local,” “southern,”

“interdisciplinary,” and “artwork” layout with land scouting routes including Tang Te-chang Memorial Park and Provincial Highway 17 and 19 located at the southern shore. Besides themes surrounding t h e r e a l w o r l d , i n “ A M a p t o Tr a c k t h e Monsters in Tainan,” a semi-virtual space was also created to link the imaginary world with the land and life within the city. The event “Come to My Place,” is about interpersonal interactions. The title originates from the Taiwanese phrase “lâi guán tau,” a hospitable and heartwarming local invitation to one’s home that creates bonds in relationships. With the art space as the medium, artists had the chance to ponder one another ’s artistic attributes and contexts. In each “Come to My Place” session, Absolute Space invited a foreign artist and an artist from southern Taiwan with similar but distinctive creative backgrounds to collaborate in person. Through visiting the southern artist’s studio, the two artists would be able to understand more about each other ’s way of work and life. As an “artist” who was once part of the event, I find the

2020 International Communication in Artist's' studio Artist: Chaong-Wen Ting, Wojciech Gilewicz(Polska) Sheng-Chien Hsiao, Jaime Ibanez (Netherlands) Gun-Yuan Hong, Esperanza Collado(Spain) Po-I Chen, Liam Morgan(Canada)

cultural exchange to be truly interesting and meaningful. Not only did I have a chance to broaden my horizon by meeting and building friendships with foreign artists, I was also exposed to fields outside of my comfort zone. In the propagandas of Absolute Space, I was able to sense the amount of effort put into “matching” the right pair of artists. Even though the whole event only lasted for two days (one for studio visit and reception, and the other for art presentations in the form of a forum at Absolute Space), which was a little too short, everyone made the effort to stay behind after the event was over, and exchanged contact information to keep in touch. I hope that one day, “Come t o M y P l a c e ” m a y l e a d t o “ G o t o Yo u r Place,” so that local artists in Taiwan will be able to engage in transnational exchanges and on-site art inspections in our partnering countries. The art population has often been the neglected minority in society. Most of the time, only the staff members are here in the art space. However, among the art minority, the Absolute Space has absolutely brought numerous people together here in Tainan.

In the space, people exchanged thoughts, and presented in ways that spoke to the art world and the world out there in reality. Although the sparkles may still be small, they are real and sure, and I look forward to the day for these continuous sparkles to bring absolute explosive effects.

About Tsung-Yu Tsai Tsai was born in Chiayi. He obtained his M.A. from the Graduate Institute of Plastic Art of Tainan University of the Arts, and his Ph.D in Art Creation and Theory from the Department of Fine Art of Taiwan Normal University. Tsai is currently living and stationed in Tainan, and has chosen painting as his main form of art expression.

Ma th, Empt y C an

S olo Exhibition of Wei-C hen C hen

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Statement by Wei-Chen Chen How should people exercise our imagination through material and the history it contains? The origin of art is contemplated through observations made on everyday materials. Through practice and reconsideration of concepts such as ready-made, appropriation, and classic beauty, trajectories are extended from self-experience, cultural identity and circumstantial consciousness. Attempts are also made to allow materials under the artist’s control to be seen in ways that are different from their usual controlled and disciplined functions, meaning, and referential qualities. Although society is being systematically naturalized, geometricized, and stylized, an empty can that has been haphazardly left on a stairway is still spotted in the city.

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1: Photo Credits by Wei-Chen Chen 2: Melamine 08 , 45×7×22cm, Marble, 2019. 3: Digital Tree , Pedestal, Can, 180×180×220cm, Wood, Paint, Aluminum Can, Caulk,2020 Photo Credits by Wei-Chen Chen

About Wei-Chen Chen Wei-Chen Chen was born in 1993 in Taipei and graduated from the Graduate School of Fine Arts, National Taipei University of the Arts. Through the practice and rethinking of concepts such as ready-made objects, appropriation, a n d c l a s s i c a l b e a u t y, s h e e x t e n d s h e r o w n experience, cultural identity, and environmental awareness, and sees material materials a s d i ff e r e n t f r o m t h e i r e v e r y d a y d i s c i p l i n e d functions, meanings, and even referential nature. Sculptures and installations have been presented in solo exhibitions at Black and White Cut, Absolute Space, and ITPark, and her works won The 1st. Contemporary Sculpture Lih Pao Prize in 2019, the Plastic Art Category in the S-An Art Award in 2017, and the Gold Prize in the Student Category in the 7th Golden Ceramic Award in 2015. In the mocking character and self-flirtation that permeate her works, she feels the object and its opposite, which is Wei-Chen Chen 's personal exploration process and spiritual reflection. Digital Tree 2 , 130×106×114cm, Wood, 2019.

Section of Light, Square Wall , 617×282×221cm, Wood, Paint, Caulk, Stainless steel, 2020.

2020 Nex t Ar t Tain 3.12 4.22 5 Uneven Parell C u r a tor

Hwei-L an C hang Ar t i st

I-C hen Kuo Z i-Yin C hen Statement by Hwei-Lan Chang The theme of the 2020 Next Art Tainan Awards “Uneven Parallel” is named from a verse, “Uneven amaranths flowing on the water, and I only search for the one I want,” in Guan Ju – a poem in the famous ancient anthology, Shi Jing (Classic of Poetry). The verse implicates searching the best and most suitable thing for a person. The naming also combines themes from author Ai-Ling Chang’s aesthetic viewpoint “uneven contrast” – symbiosis, layering, and contrast. The exhibition invites winners of the Next A r t Ta i n a n Aw a r d s a n d a r t i s t s o f d i ff e r e n t generations and cultural backgrounds from Taiwan, France, and Japan, to present their artworks. The artworks, including paintings, sculptures, mixed media, new media, are displayed diversely through space installations and “In Situ”. By gathering 10 exhibition venues in Tainan to converse and interact, personal memories and their relations with time and space are explored. Fractions of memories also reorganize the new possibilities of reading, including “Différance” between

tradition and modernism, memories and imagination of the future, conversations b e t w e e n l i f e e x p e r i e n c e s a n d h i s t o r y, t h e hustle and loneliness of the modern day, and layers of all kinds of circumstances. This exhibition “Uneven Parallel,” with the participation of the audience, will influence the observation phenomena while attempting to construct the conversing relationship between two subjects. At the same time, the audience is invited to use “displacement” as their method to explore these ten exhibitions,

nan:

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external extensive “In Situ” displays, and an individual exhibition. By taking part in distinctive movements in Tainan, along with the exhibitors, the audience can construct a parallel universe with diverse understanding, observation, record and writing. T h e N e x t A r t Ta i n a n Aw a r d s 2 0 2 0 w i l l u s e the multiple interpretations of “Uneven” to present the connecting relationships between a microscopic scale to an enormous one, entirety to fragment, and soul to existing matter, instead of two complete opposites.

I-Chen Kuo, Promise 2061 , 308×165× 104cm, Mixed media installation: 1986 stamp of CometHalley, Antique dental chair, Antique woodenwindow frames, Steel rack, LED blue light,automotive lighting, 2015 Photo Credits by I-Chen Kuo

We hope to offer an experience of being the subjects mutually, accepting differences and being inclusive. Also, through the conversion of images, paintings, and materials, the contrasted layering of space and material is depicted, offering imagination and inspiration to the surrounding reality.

To p : K u o , I - C h e n , P r o m i s e , 4 5 × 4 5 × 9 c m , O i l p a i n t s , Leather wooden cushion, 2015 Photo Credits by I-Chen Kuo Bottom: Kuo,I-Chen, Blue Fountain,109×43×63cm, M i x e d m e d i a i n s t a l l a t i o n : g e a r m o t o r, A n t i q u e s t e e l well valve, Steel rack, Glass silk, Photograph, Copper sulphate, 2015

About I-Chen Kuo

Taiwan in the Venice Biennial. He is the winner of Taipei Art Award in 2005 and the 6th Taishin

1979 born in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, lives and works in

Arts Award Top 5 Selection in 2008. In 2016, he

Taipei.

published picture book “A Babytooth fallen out of

MFA in New Media Art, Taipei National University of

the Universe,” and in 2017 he founded STUPIN,

the Arts.

an artist studio swapping platform. Significant e x h i b i t i o n e x p e r i e n c e i n c l u d e s Ta i p e i B i e n n i a l ,

Through multiple media, including new media,

Singapore Biennial, Sydney Biennial, Seoul

i n sta llat ion, and v i d e o , Ku o c re a te s h i s u n i que

International Media Art city Biennial, ZKM and other

poetic artistic language. He concerns the floating

major museums across the world. His works keep

state of human spirit and keeps searching for

inviting to various international exhibitions in recent

the disappearing belongingness in the modern

years.

environment. In the status of non-existence, he attempts to explore the essence of life. In 2005, Kuo became the youngest artist ever to represent

About Zi-Yin Chen B o r n i n Ta i p e i y e a r 1 9 9 5 , c u r r e n t l y s t u d y i n g i n

Her work frequently uses data provided by the

New Media Art MFA of Taipei National University

ISS, astrological , scientific images as well as my

of Arts. She has received awards of NEXT ART

imaginations toward the great unknown in space. A

TAINAN(2020), NANYING AWARDS (2018), SANCF

question she has toward the reality: Can one truly

AWARD (2017)

understand the world with how we feel about it.

Focusing on visual and device creatives, combining space, light and sound.

Top: Texturing the Moon of Zi-Yin Chen in Absolute Space for the Arts. Photo Credits by Chung- Ping Wang Bottom: Zi-Yin Chen, Texturing the Moon on the beach , 100×56cm, Inkjet print, 2020. Photo Credits by Zi-Yin Chen

Zi-Yin Chen, The messages from the Moon , Dimensions variable, Installation, 2020 Photography by Chung- Ping Wang

Extra Ordinary Human 4.22 5.31 C ur a tor

Yuan-Ta Hsu Yung-Wei Tung A r t i st

Mu-Jen L u Tsung-Yu Tsai Jin Shi Statement by Yung-Wei Tung In 2020, the pandemic of Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has completely disrupted and rearranged the orders of life and of the world. The exhibition of "ExtraOrdinary Human" held by Absolute Space for the Arts under such circumstances, aims to return to the art creation, rethinking the "fei chang" (abnormal/ unusual/extraordinary) within, a term which might seem more ambiguous in the context of Mandarin. In the creation of the three artists participating in the exhibition, we may be able to unfold three interpretation aspects of "ExtraOrdinary Human", creator him/herself, the creatures in or of the artworks and the audience. First, creators see the external from the internal or receive stimulation from the surroundings to inspire the creation. The extraordinariness is not referred to their distinctive talents or creativity as artists, but led by their double identities as both human-beings and creators, embodied in the respective point of view and position. In addition, it implies the fact that each individual has to face the norms from both sides. As

a human-being, he or she cannot help but compromise on disciplines to some degree in order to survive and make ends meet, while seeking cracks to diverge from the perfect way of life expected by the society. On the other hand, when art creation has become a way to express oneself, to transform one’s energy or to escape, as TSAI Tsung-Yu plays other social roles yet internalizes painting into a way of breathing, as a creator, he or she dooms to be trapped into a stalemate and battle against the legitimacy of arts. One is forced to encounter the exclusion of the long history and tradition of the medium, and the environment interplayed by contemporary art, the discourses, and the capital. TSAI has been continually searching for the "inappropriate fighting stance" at the edges of both territories, consciously keeping distance from the current norms of painting, art institutions and the broader reality as the first fighting move of assaulting and provoking. He has especially involved himself in water painting to amplify the vocabularies to his so-called linguistic system. While escaping from the mainstream, he has been taking examples or developing

moves such as "Dempsey Roll", which he reveled from his last solo exhibition in Absolute Space for the Arts. Inspired by the "unusual" body of the family m e m b e r, S H I H J i n h a s d e p a r t e d f r o m the normal viewpoint of drawing and has constantly explored the multi-dimensional profiles of humankind. To quest for the true human’s being, the "ExtraOrdinary Human" has then formed one unrealistic "ExtraOrdinary Human" image from another through all kinds of strage, twisted figures and straightforward, unconfined strokes, including creatures with heads of human and bodies of animals, the headless, disproportionately elongating and bending bodies, simple facial expressions in dotted lines. The "ExtraOrdinary Human" might be associated with surrealism, which regards the elements from the everyday life out of ordinary and re-develops the deep senses and rhythms in life. TSAI focuses on the daily matters of ordinary people, and turns them into extraordinarily major issue in arts. LU Mu-jen Lama Moltis reconnects the first level of artist’s subject and combines his own memories of promenade to launch his so-called "painting action". Fluidity and uncertainty are not only the displayed characteristics in the creation but also the underclass life imprints of "nothing lasts forever" of the villagers he has encountered during the promenade in "San-Sui". We might find big areas of lines or color blocks in the artworks. TSAI uses them to create extremely odd shadows, sometimes with strokes from other blocks in strongly contrast colors beneath. It adds elements of danger and insecurity to the seeming bad taste humor. The cute and fun expressions of smiling or sticking one’s tongue out and so on therefore becomes more mysterious and unknown as if they are flippantly teasing what we think we have seen and known. In several of his paintings, the presence of the shadow even becomes stronger than the subject itself because of the thick and heavy colors, which

is like a manifesto that the deep subconscious is coming alive to toughly take over. On the other hand, LU surrounds the only character that is in the focus and placed in the middle of the frame with the lines and color blocks. It is the current status of the common people that matters instead of the promenade location referred by the fluid and unidentified background. LU further looks into how human holds the living gestures of being active or passive, dives into the connecting as well as isolating r e a l i t y, a n d a t t e m p t s t o a p p r o a c h c e r t a i n inherent human nature through the endless interweaving and conflicts of bodily feelings and rational logics.

Top: Tsung-Yu Tsai, Yellow Foal , 41x31cm, Oil painting, Acrylique, 2018. Bottom: Tsung-Yu Tsai, Cub , 35x27cm, Oil painting, Acrylique, 2016. Photography by Tsung-Yu Tsai

SHIH focuses on such field of power and energy, too, but looks for another dynamic equilibrium from the external. While expanding a new dimension from Leonardo DA VINCI’s ideal human body proportions, the unusual lies between the two perfect spots on the vertical line and the horizontal one become more three-dimensional. It is not merely represented by the body figure itself, but with the depth of time and other external forces being concerned as well. Moreover, such direction leads to the final aspect through the reverse of the power, including the ordinary audience into the category of "ExtraOrdinary Human". SHIH invites them to step on the "health mat" made of more than three hundred head selfportraits sculpted by the artist herself. The facility which could be seen in everyday life

overturns the divinity while the ordinary people trample on the scared faces (also symbolizing prestige) and artworks with their filthiest feet, the bottom of one’s body. Meanwhile, it keeps vaguely stabbing at the audience. The social viewpoints and doctrines given by different "faces" from the daily life hereby transform into sensible pain. The three artists begin with the "ExtraOrdinary" being, position or heal themselves through creation, and supplement the usual with the unusual, or enlighten the ordinariness with extraordinariness.Together, they show deep thoughts about the "ExtraOrdinary" meaning of art production for themselves, and even extend it into art institution to create "ExtraOrdinary" relationship with the audience.

As fragmented records of what one sees, the artists have no intention to include everything, but leave the space within the frame for only one subject or one surrounding. Even when they portray landscapes with no people, they also leave out the details of each building’s space and construction. TSAI mentions that he has drawn inspiration from other media such as cinema. More than being a style, the spirit of minimalism is embraced after re-realizing the limits of the medium of painting nowadays. They have pursued the suspension of "not to do" from "what it cannot do", refusing the construction of knowledge system in the field of contemporary art. By abandoning the actuality of the whole and refusing to obey the paradigm, the characters or the scenes displayed in the artworks could not only refer to what the names of the works imply but all living creatures. Elsewhere is within here. Due to the collateral and two-way circulation of life and creation, the "ExtraOrdinary Human" hold up and advance the distinction between ordinariness and extraordinariness. Under such dynamics, the "non-ordinary" might thus be able to evolve themselves into the "ExtrOrdinary" or known as "human human" (since the term, "fei chang" could be implied as the adjective, "extraordinary" or the adverb, "extreme"), just as "the branches grew from the chink in the wall”, in TSAI’s description.

Left: Jin Shi, Vitruvian Man, Dimensions variable, Modeling clay, Iron Wire, Wood, 2015. The exhibition site of Extra Ordinary Human in Absolute Space for the Arts. Right: Jin Shi, Healthmat, 550×50×13cm, Cement, Wood, 2013.Photo Credits by Jin Shi

About Mu-Jen Lu

About Tsung-Yu Tsai

Mu-Jen Lu use painting, visual art, and installations

Tsung-Yu Tsai uses the “reduction” methodology

to be the main form of creations, he called on the

in his paintings to allow the coloring pigment from

memory of the past to experience the dislocation

its own structure . His brush strokes abandon the

feeling, and absorbed the insight gained by the

following and attachment of objects. His usage

body from moving in-between spaces, to observe

of pigment encourages the colors to develop

the relationship between the human race and the

organically through the various brush strokes

land in the history, and recognize the isolation

such as dragging, brisk moves or broader strokes.

between the body and the environment. These

Tsai’s original motivation for this series of works

perceptual messages became the inspiration for

was to tackle the “eye-popping”.

the creation factors, and begin in a way of narrative

occur in daily life or within the common institutions.

experiment.

Compared to the more glorified subjects or little

Subjects that

blessings, these “eye-popping” subjects allow artists to showcase their attitudes toward life with greater precision and less burden .

About Jin Shi • Solo Exhibition 2019 T he nak ed In s e c ts ,Yo n -F u S tu d i o , Ta i p ei , Taiwan 2014 JIN-JIN, Taipei National University of the Arts, Guandu, Taipei, Taiwan • Group Exhibition 2018 ART KAOHSIUNG, The RIER-2 Art Center, Kaohsiung, Taiwan

2017 Synapse Island, THZ Gallery, Yingge

HAIKU-Sculpture,Joshibi University of Art and Design Art Museum,kanagawa, Japan 2 0 1 6 Va c a t i o n i n g I n E y e o f t h e S t o r m , I B T Education Foundation, Taipei, Taiwan Stunning Edge-Contemporary Ceramic Art in Asia, National Taiwan Craft Researchand Development Institute, Taipei, Taiwan Beitou Psychogeographic Project, Heart Village, Beitou, Taiwan

1: Le fermier fumée et assis par terre , 100×70cm, Acrylique, 2020. Photo Credits by Mu-Jen Lu 2: Mu-Jen Lu, Prendre un coup d'air , 100×70cm, Acrylique, 2020. 3: Mu-Jen Lu, Mamie à bosse portant un

paquet de médicaments chinois sur le chemin du retour , 100×70cm, Acrylique, 2020. Photo Credits by Mu-Jen Lu

The

Diamond that is

Raindrops S olo Exhibition of Ya-Hui Wang

6.10

7.19 Statement by Ya-Hui Wang I really like a passage in Shih-t’ao’s Friar Bitter-Melon on Painting: “Life in nature consists in the ink-wash expressing the concrete forms of hills and rivers and things, seen from the front or the back, from the side and on a slant, scattered or clustered together, distant or near, external or internal, solid or empty, continuous or broken; they have layers and sections and falling aspects; they have charm and elusive expanse. Thus all nature presents its soul to man and man has the power to control its vitality and culture.”

When we see the scenery of mountains, what we actually see is not just the mountains but differ-ent layers of connections from a personal perspective. S o m e o f t h e s e c o n n e c t i o n s a p p e a r a s s c e n - e r y, w h i l e s o m e a s s u b t l e atmosphere. If one can sense these qualities, it means that there is something corresponding in his or her heart. For example, when a person sees the barren tree branches in the midwinter at some particular moment, and thus feels a special resonance inside; then at this moment, the world appears as another existence. This kind of moment is like the world that chil-dren capture with intuition. It is wonderful and real, yet usual. I have always been trying to capture things in these moments. Images to me have always been like fables: it is what it is yet it isn’t so. This seemingly unsolva-ble contradiction (yet unnecessary to be solved) actually has very deep meanings inside. In this exhibition, I started along the timeline and gradually picked out the imagery that was originally hidden behind my lives. I returned time back to a single picture in another way. I often feel this different-yet-juxtaposed time and space in my mundane life. Big and small; distant and near; light and heavy; fast and slow. These different qualities have always been alternating bright and dark in my heart. The other day, I picked out a poetry collection by Shuntarō Tanikawa from my book-shelf by chance. I bought it in Japan many years ago and all the poems have Japanese and English translation side by side. When I flipped to the page that was copied from his original notebook, there seemed to be some feelings emerging from this book that I had read for so many times. Therefore, after a few days in my studio, I put the book with this page open on the black tablecloth that had not been cleaned for a while. A wonderful scene showed up, where time became a loop, and suddenly I understood another poem of the poet. That’s right. The Diamond that is Raindrops.

Right: Sea , 112×86.35×20cm, Semi-gloss photo paper framed with aluminum plate, Solid wood shelf, Glass cup, Water, Two clock calibers, 2020 Left: Light Year , 93×65.04×20cm, Art paper framed with aluminum plate, Solid wood shelf, Glass cup, Water, Two clock calibers

About Ya-Hui Wang

2017, “Arts. Ask about Asia”, Daegu Art Factory, Daegu, Korea

• Solo Exhibition

2017, “A Space Andante”, Taipei Fine Arts Museum,

2020, “The Diamond that is Raindrops” absolute

Taipei, Taiwan

space for the arts, Tainan, Taiwan

2017, “Crisscrossing East and West:The Remaking

2019, “A Brief History of Time”, ESLITE GALLERY,

of Ink Art in Contemporary East Asia”, Moca Yin

Taipei, Taiwan

Chuan, China

2018, “Questions to Shadow”, Neuer Kunstverein

2017, “Collecting and son on”, Children’s art

Giessen, Giessen, Germany

Education Center, Taipei Fine Arts Museum, Taipei, Taiwan

• Group Exhibition 2020, “Aux anthropoloques martiens” New Taipei City Arts Center, Taipei, Taiwan 2019, “Sui Generis of Taiwan-Jing Pai”, It Park, Taipei, Taiwan

Notebook , 264×148.5cm, Single channel video(9’01”loop), Sketch paper, 2020. Photo Credits by Ya-Hui Wang

L andscape Remains S olo Exhibition of Jo-Mei L ee

7.29

9.06

Statement by Jo-Mei Lee Trees wrap time. Several years ago on a winter evening, among the mundane scenery I came across two coconut trees—two royal palm shadows cast by sunlight on the buildings’ walls. The fourstory-high tree shadows were displaced as the sunlight moved upon the trees. At times since the trees shook vigorously or due to a piece of cloud passing, a dynamic gray-scale scene appeared on the buildings’ surface. Landscape Remains contains the ambiguity between the coconut trees and the tree shadows .

25.17425, 121.44035 , 275×7cm, Palm tree, Iron , Raw lacquer, 2020. Photo Credits by Jo-Mei Lee

My obsession with the natural forms is just like what Tateishi Tetsuomi once said: “Rather than being emotionally connected to trees, I was more attracted to the inter-lacing of trees and the arrangement of leaf veins. There was a desire inside my mind to attempt to collect those feelings….” Therefore, I kept on drawing and left the strokes of labors. A few weeks ago, those five coconut trees that grew straight up outside the window of my place were cut down due to the typhoon p r e v e n t i o n p o l i c y i n s u m m e r. T h o s e t r e e s had been my greetings to the sky every early

morning, but they turned out as the waste abandoned on spare land. What remain are the tree shadows, the coconut trees in the botanic garden that suffered during wartime, the wood that lies on the ground, the fallen leaves that sweep the ground in ordinary daily lives, the massive tree bark that hangs off the trunks because of metabolic activities.… With the series of works I want to dive into objects, portray the nature, and evoke the scenery with still lifes. In order to capture the differences, I keep copying the conditions of time fading away.

The exhibition site of Landscape Remains. Photo Credits by Jo-Mei Lee

About Jo-Mei Lee Born in 1985 in Taipei, Taiwan. Graduated from Master Degree of Department of Fine Art, National Taiwan University of Arts. Lives and works in Taipei. The creation of Lee, Jo-Mei mainly comes from the personal experience of daily experience and its transformation, from the ordinary texture of things and details of the gaze and repeated painting, looking for a touch of the memory landscape. She is good at using different techniques and materials to record and transform, so as to change these accustomed things, slip out of the original order, and reshape the possibility for them to be seen again. Her works have a special poetic quality. In the past, he exhibited in Kuandu Museum of Fine Arts, Eslite Gallery and Crane Gallery. She has also been invited to France, Japan, Thailand and Australia to participate in joint exhibitions and artist in residence.

Landscape Remains – Falling Down , 150×100×30cm, Arches watercolor paper (cold press), pencils, charcoal, iron, wood, brass nails, 2017. Photo Credits by Jo-Mei Lee

Template , 340×145cm, Iron, Palm tree, Wood, 2020. Photo Credits by Jo-Mei Lee

Jour nal of V isited L ight Cur a tor

Jhen-K ai Wang Cur a tor

Po-Yen Wang Tzu-Huan L in Tzu-An W u

9.19

10.25

Statement by Jhen-Kai Wang On June 21, 2020, under the sky in the spread of the plague, the world as if to rest, the people on the street look up to the same direction. They are in the process of observing the solar eclipse, the collective behavior appeared in the documentary, “ Le Moulin”, to reproduce the historical fragment, after hundreds of years, still the light of the sun through the pupil. What are we really looking for from the spectacle? Light, which human beings strive to pursue throughout their whole life. Only when the individual breaks away from the matrix and comes out of the water in the direction of light. We could lead to the western paradise by following the light of Buddha at the junction of life and death. In Plato's cave, the primordial people chose to leave the darkness and struggle to open their eyes in order to look directly at the sun, the symbol of truth. It is the same as the audience in the white cube, all looking for the work where

Po-Yen Wang, The Blue Room , 80×100cm, 2019-2020. Photo Credits by Po-Yen Wang

the light sources converge in the space, or in the black box. Staring intently at the film light projected on the screen. Absolute space for the Arts in this annual festival is honored to invite three video artists: Po-Yen Wang, Tzu-An Wu, Tzu-Huan Lin. They have lived in New York for a long time, good at individual three-dimensional computer animation, experimental film and video art. All three of them are light seekers, who have a keen insight into the changes of time and space in the process of movement. In addition, using the dynamic image as the creation medium, they also transform the elements in the image into flat paintings and installations in the space. The light in the works is both the form and the content, both the subject and the object. In this very period of global border closures, by the annual exhibition of the three works of artists exhibition, to reflection the inner meaning of “ 觀光 (Guan Guang)” : sightseeing, it points to not only the behavior of human to travel to visit, also is the human eye for observation and measurement of visible light. To use “ 記 (Ji)” as concatenation means, with image as a writing tool, just like the past literati with calligraphy and painting while traveling. T h e “ J o u r n a l o f Vi s i t e d L i g h t ” s e e m s t o spread out the travel notes of the three artists. The light expanded from them and penetrated through the spaces. Turning into an Aura could be seen by the audience and reflected into mind.

Po-Yen Wang, New Moon I , 80×100cm,2019-2020. Photo Credits by Po-Yen Wang

The exhibition site in Absolute Space for the Arts. Photo Credits by Pei-Shan Yen

About Curator-Jhen-Kai Wang

book will be published at the end of this year, with

Jhen-Kai Wang is now the manager and curator of

judge for the Golden Horse Award Asian Film Observer

Absolute space for the Arts, and also serves as the

Mission and served for the AICA. During this period,

director of Taiwan Film Critics Society. He has been

he has co-organized many exhibitions. As a curator

writing art and film reviews for a long time. His works can be seen on such platforms as Funscreen, The News

the theme of Chuan Mei Theater. He has served as a

for the first time, “ 觀光記 (Guan Guang Ji), Journal of Visited Light” aims to draw out a unique curatorial

Lens, E-reading of National Taiwan Museum of Fine

poetics based on the cross-media focus on image and

Arts, and Unitas Lifestyle, etc. The first cross-domain

writing.

About Po-Yen Wang

(School of Visual Arts, New York), Asia Digital Art

Po-Yen Wang holds two Master of Fine Arts degrees

in the Marketplace Fellowship (NY, United States)

f ro m t h e S c h o o l o f V i s u a l A r t s i n New Yo r k C i t y

in 2018. His solo exhibitions include The Black Sun,

with a major in Computer Art, and Taipei National

Taipei Digital Art Center, Taiwan (2020), Atlas Portal,

University of the Arts with a major in New Media

Taiwan Academy, Los Angeles, United States (2018), An

Art. He won Gold Medal Award in New Media Art

Obscure Silhouette, Flux Factory, NY, United States

( Na t i o n a l A r t E x h i b i t i o n , Ta iwa n ) , Pa u l a R h o d e s

(2018), and Saudade, National Taiwan Museum of Fine

Award for Exceptional Achievement in Computer Art

Arts, Taichung, Taiwan(2016).

Award (Fukuoka, Japan), and he completed the Artist

Po-Yen Wang, Crossing , Two-Channel 3D computer animation(12 min/ HD /Color), 2018 Photo Credits by Po-Yen Wang

About Tzu-Huan Lin Tz u - H u a n L i n – ( b. Ta i p e i , 19 8 6 ) H i s wo r k ce nte rs around personal experience as an immigrant, adapts to connect different subjects or stories to address the phenomena. He received an MFA in Digital Arts at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn. Lin’s work has been included in international group exhibitions such as "The 6th International Video Art Exhibition", "ADAF 14th Athens Digital Arts Festival" and solo exhibitions at Taipei Fine Art Museum, Kuandu Museum of Fine Arts.

Tzu-Huan Lin, Appearing is not the same as being see , Woven tapestry 100% cotton with tasseled edges, 2019. Photo Credits by Tzu-Huan Lin

Tzu-Huan Lin, Volcano Observers , 45.72×60.96 cm, 2020. Photo Credits by Tzu-Huan Lin

About Tzu-An Wu

Taiwan. His works have been shown worldly, including

Tz u -A n Wu m a ke s ex p e r i m e nt a l f i l m s . H e l i ke s to

(San Francisco), EXiS (Seoul), KLEX (Kuala Lumpur),

manipulate heterogeneous images, sounds, and texts,

Xposed Film Festival(Berlin), MixNYC (New York) and

to question the construction of the narrative and the

more. He was awarded the jury prize at Festival of

selfhood. In recent years he mainly works with Super 8

Different and Experimental Cinema (Paris). Exhibitions

and 16mm film techniques, while he is also interested

include Taiwan Biennial, Metropolitan Museum of

in the intersection of analog and digital image

Manila, and Taipei Artist Village, etc. Also, he is a

production.He holds an MA in Media Studies from

member of The Other Cinema, a collective dedicated to

The New School, New York, and a BA in Gender and

experimental cinema and the moving image.

BFI Flare (London), IFFR (Netherland), CROSSROADS

Cultural Studies from National Tsing Hua University,

Tzu-An Wu, Moon Phrases , 1'44'', 16mm transfer to video, 2018. Tzu-An Wu, World's Odds and World's Ends , 12’42”, Super8 / Digital Video, 2015. Photo Credits by Tzu-An Wu

Moonlight Over the Island Affects People Watching the Sea Solo Exhibition of Tong-Chiao Chuang

11.04

12.13

Statement by Jhen-Kai Wang Tong-Chiao Chuang’s solo exhibition Moonlight Over the Island Affects People Watching the Sea is Absolute Art Space’s seventh highlight of the 2020 annual exhibitions. Connecting the artist’s statement, the context, and the spirit of Absolute Art Space, our institutional curator Jhen-Kai Wang concluded four major aspects and characteristics for this exhibition. First, the artist took his inspirations from the images of “mountains” and “sea” in Taiwanese landscape. Second, the exhibition’s main subject M o o n l i g h t O v e r t h e I s l a n d A ff e c t s P e o p l e Watching the Sea was actually taken from the name of a poem which the artist wrote in 2017. In other words, this created the intertextuality between the artist’s literary and artistic works. Third, The artist has been trained and been working as a curator as well. In this exhibition the artist’s professional thoughts in curating and creating can be seen connected. Last but not least, the spirit of Absolute Art Space has a strong interactive relationship with the works in this exhibition. 37

In the poem Moonlight Over the Island Affects People Watching the Sea, the artist organized his observations and thoughts after he returned to Taiwan from France. By repeatedly bringing up the different climates between Europe and Taiwan, and comparing Taiwanese daily lives and food with those in Europe, the artist emphasized a traveler ’s searching and choosing between “home” and “elsewhere.” Naming this exhibition as the same topic of the

poem is to respond to the exhibition’s lyricism, and to present the artist’s island-based viewpoint and his historical thoughts. Starting from the keywords such as “mountains,” “sea,” “island,” “fields,” betel nut trees,” “coconut trees” and “palm-family plants,” the artist aimed to explore deeper and further his identity toward “home” and “land,” and tried to figure out where exactly his own “dwelling,” or even spiritual “shelter” is.

We hope the viewers to experience the cities, the mountains, the sea and the fields of the island. Next, in the middle and the space behind are the installation work Archipelago II, and painting works Dwelling 03, The Dream of Home 014, The Dream of Home 015, The Dream of Home 016, Spirit Temporary Shelter 05 and The Dream of Home 017. After showing the viewers the scenery of the outside world, we invite them to search deeper in mind their own imagination toward home.

The exhibition takes advantage of Absolute Art Space’s long and narrow space. Starting from the entrance lie the installation work Urban and Rural Tanks, and painting works Dwelling 06, Dwelling 07 and Everything Breathes Again 017.

1: Part of Dream of a House 17 . 2: The exhibition site in Absolute Space for the Arts. 3: Dream of a House 15 , Acrylic on canvas, 33×24cm, 2016. 4: Dream of a House 16 , Acrylic on canvas, 33×24cm, 2016. Photo Credits by Dong-Chiao Chuang

About Tong-Chiao Chuang Born in Ping-Tung in 1981, graduated with the Diplôme national supérieur d’expression plastique from the É co l e Nat i o n a l e Su p é r i e u re d ’ A r t s d e Pa r i s - C e rgy (ENSAPC). Recently lives and works in Tainan. The main subject of his creation is landscape, he believes that landscape can be the media for the notions and expression of “the connection between oneself and the world”. He also follows the unique natural conditions and social customs of the island and ocean in Taiwan c l o s e l y f o r t h e s e p a s t f ew ye a rs , t o a b s t ra c t s a n d symbols the sight he’s seen and the body experiences he’s been, then displays these ideas by painting and concepts on the graphic works and spatial works. He had had his personal exhibitions in Absolute Space

Part of Urban and Rural Tanks , Dimensions variable, Mix media, 2020 version. Photo Credits by Pei-Shan Yen

for the Arts, MU MU Gallery, A Gallery, published his poetry anthology, and experienced curating in art museums.

Part of Urban and Rural Tanks , Dimensions variable, Mix media, 2020 version. Photo Credits by Pei-Shan Yen

Fa m i ly Re ci p es: 12.23 Mother's Forest 2020

2021

1.2 4

Solo Exhibition of Ping-Yu Pang Statement by Ping-Yu Pang T h e a r t w o r k s b y Ta i w a n e s e a r t i s t P i n g - Yu Pan primarily revolve around the relationship between myths and contemporary life. The artist believes that the collective myths created by human beings are in fact the images composed of superimposed individual life stories. The archetype of these collective myths has been demonstrating a formal evolution that proceeds by a series of nuances, which calls for our awareness of the fundamental issues that the humanity faced. Such an evolving form is exactly the structure of the collective myths. Previous discourses on the myths mainly put universal interpretations on their archetype and emphasized the archetype’s reproduction. Pan, in contrast, argues that we can comprehend the meaning of the mythical structure only by capturing the nuances of its dynamics.

The mythical structure connotes that the structure of the archetype has transcended the formal confines through its evolution proceeding by a series of nuances, and therefore become a creative, dynamic structure as a whole. The formal evolution requires the creative participation and deduction of life to transcend the limitations of the archetype. Transcending the archetype (or transcending the paradigm) represents a hero’s odyssey. The myths inspired us by showing how to t r a n s c e n d t h e c o n f i n e s o f l i f e , r e a l i t y, o r paradigm, allowing us to be ourselves, that is, to be our own heroes. In other words, the mythical structure refers to finding our own archetypes and transcending them. Her series of works Family Recipes embody her thoughts about the mythical structure. In one of her experiences as an artist in

residence, she brought one of her mother ’s recipes with her and started the longest and furthest journey she’d ever had. Exploring the art world in New York with great excitement, she had never expected the recipe in her suitcase to become the strong emotional connection to her home. The Family Recipes series not only talk about nostalgia through food, but also intend to explore the issues about family, history and culture through life experiences and cooking; since family dishes aren’t just delicacies but the embodiment of inheritance, emotions and culture. With family dishes as the clues of life stories, she talks a b o u t t h e d i ff e r e n t d i m e n s i o n s o f a f a m i l y story and how individual narrations become collective.

Apparently Family Recipes involves the inheritance and innovation of culture and traditions. In this series, she intentionally uses “the Arts and Crafts Movements” as the parallel issue. In an era of post-conceptual art, craftsmanship can revive arts’ or visual arts’ ability to take control of multimedia languages, and provide the mindset of practical aspects for the “concept-media language-artwork” structure. This time in Tainan, Absolute Art Space exhibits four pieces in this series, including the 2020 new pieces Chang, Ling’s Kitchen, Mandarin Duck Cake (2019), Grandma Owl (2011-2020) and The myth of Lunar Eclipse (2016-2019), discussing the female roles in family.

About Ping-Yu Pan

relationship between myths and contemporary life.

Ping-Yu Pan earned her degree from the Graduate

explore diffident dimensions of a family story with

I n s t i t u t e o f P l a s t i c A r t s a t Ta i n a n N a t i o n a l

family dishes as the clues because family dishes

University of the Arts in 1998, and is currently an

not only embody but also perpetuate affections and

assistant professor at Taipei National University

culture, and are therefore more meaningful than

of the Arts (TNUA). She has received grants from

delicacies. Furthermore, she attempts to capture the

Asian Cultural Council and ROC-US Foundation

common image of mythical archetypes in different

for Scholarly Exchange, won the 9th Asian Artist

culinary cultures.

Scholarship offered by Vermont Studio Center, and

She has published two catalogues in 2009 and

participated in artist-in-residency Program hosted

2013, her work has been exhibited in many places

by Headland Center for the Arts, Fine Arts Museum

in Taiwan, and among different international cities.

of San Francisco/de Young Museum, etc.

Her work has also collected by Kaohsiung Museum

Pan possesses abundant domestic and foreign

of Fine Arts and Kuandu Museum of Fine Arts,

experience, and her work which consist chiefly of

Taipei National University of the Arts.

Her recent project Family Recipes, Pan seeks to

mixed-media sculpture or installations, explore the

Left: Gramma Owl , Dimensions variable, Mixed-media, 2011-2020 Right: Chang, Ling’s Kitchen , 350×192×287 cm,10’00”, Fabric, Video, 2020 Photography by Sunhoophotography

Published: Absolute Space for the Arts Chief editor: Yi-Min Huang Editor: Pei-Shan Yen Writers: Sheng-Hua Zheng, Tsung-Yu Tsai Designer: Hsin-Ju Li, Pei-Shan Yen Translators: Chien-Tai Lai, Chao-I Chou Address: NO. 11, LN. 205, SEC. 1, MINSHENG RD., WEST CENTRAL DIST., TAINAN CITY 700, TAIWAN (R.O.C.) Tel: +886 6 2233508 Website: https://absoluteartspace.wixsite.com/absolute-art-space Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/abaspace Printed by: GAIN HOW PRINTING CO., LTD. First Printing: February 2022

Front cover: Landscape of the Island 001 of Tong-Chiao Chuang Back cover: A better Human being of I-Chen Kuo

Wei-Chen Chen I-CHEN Kuo Zi-Yin Chen Mu-Jen Lu Jin Shi Tsung-Yu Tsai Ya-hui Wang Jo-Mei Lee Po-Yen Wang Tzu-Huan Lin Tzu-An Wu Tong-Chiao Chuang Ping-Yu Pan