Identity by decemberzal

identity

Che-an Lin 2019

lín

zhé

ān

BA (Hons) Art & Design|Birmingham City University / joannxforest@gmail.com / che-an-l

decemberzal /

2019 Degree Show /

C o n t e n t s

Preface / About this project.

Multiculturalism and the Arts in Taiwan / Dissertation & researches.

identity / Outcomes, researches, materials, processes, references & ideas.

Building the future / Pathways, plans & proposals after guaduation.

Preface /

>>>> This is about the conflicts, confusion and struggle under the identity of being Taiwanese. I am sure of who I am, yet deep down in my heart, I always question myself, "who am I truly?" <<<<

Clay as the medium, human faces as the mirror of myself, the objects as the catalyst to blend the emotions onto the hard yet fragile faces. I am wearing these faces. One face when I am with myself, one face when I am the citizen of Taiwan, one face when I am a foreigner, and one face when I am nobody. It's embarrassing, personal, with a bit of politics. But this is what I am going to show you all the explicits.

Multiculturalism and the Arts in Taiwan / Taiwan, a small island drifting on the Pacific Ocean in East Asia, has been baptised by various cultures, educations and politics through each colonisation. Over these centuries, apart from the indigenes, you can see the footprints left by the invaders from the Netherlands, Spain, China, and Japan, and the new immigrants from the South East Asia and other foreign countries since the 1990s. This localised characteristics has been struggling among the colonialism, modernism, post-modernism, post-colonialism and globalisation. It not only

reflects on people’s life, but also the art. This provoked the diverse development of arts and crafts in Taiwan, as long as the sense of belonging. People share different cultures, speak different languages, wear different clothes, sing different songs, look differently, think differently, yet we all live in the same island. Meanwhile, how do we deal with the national consciousness (identity) while we think, we speak, we make art? This topic came across my mind not because I am a Taiwanese, but it is also a controversial topic when it comes to ‘national identity’. It was a chance to bring this topic overseas for those who do not really know

about this country see what we are and what we are struggling with, and a chance for myself to get to know my own country. I have such deep feelings and resonance since I left my country, and have encountered many situations that force me to think and to doubt my identity, not only the nationality on my ID card, but my self-identification. I don't think I could reflect that much about myself and my identity if I hadn't come out of Taiwan a.k.a. my comfort zone. I wanted to talk about the culture of Taiwan. It brings out the

history, arts, life, as well as politics. It reveals the diverse cultures through each colony and different groups of people who have lived in this land; it is an interesting topic for both Taiwanese and outsiders. I grew up in this country, under this culture, yet I am not familiar with the history behind it, plus I took it for granted and didn't care too much. I encountered a lot of cultural differences, political issues in the UK, especially with the Chinese and those who don't see Taiwan as a country. It has begun to remind myself of who I am.

The outcome I made for the first topic, 'Lines', using threads to change the function of a book.

It has been an issue within Taiwan that there are a certain group of people ( I would not call them 'Taiwanese') don't realise if we don't

do what we can to avoid the invasion and unequal treatment of China, we will probably be united and be one of the province of China soon. More and more pro-Chinese have come up on the streets, the news, and the politics, waving the flags of China. It is hard to declaire our independence while there are people whose hearts are not with the country. Yet we are still struggling and fighting wherever we are. 'Identity' is a lifelong topic that you can talk about with all kinds of answers and explanations, and it changes as the time goes; I could only talk a small bit of it on here.

It's always been such a journey for myself to experience the life outside of Taiwan which brought up the national consciousness and selfidentification in me.

Research materials / Books/resources ☞ Hsieh, H. (2010) Taiwan Consciousness in Contemporary Art, Journal of Aesthetic Education, Issue 175. ☞ Wang, L. (2004) Multiculturalism in Taiwan, International Journal of

Cultural Policy. ☞ Shiu, M. (2018) Bad Habits: 40 Years of Taiwanese Art Collections. ☞ Quartly, J. (2007) Atopia: It's more than a feeling. ☞ Langasan Theatre (2015) Langasan Theatre, 2014 Edinburgh Fringe Festival 'Misa Lisin'.

Artists ☞ Chen Cheng-Po was a Taiwanese painter and an important figure during the occupation of Japan and the post war period. He was the most important artist who brought modernism to Taiwan art history, and had a huge impact on the modernisation of East Asian art. (see fig.1) ☞ Hung Tong, a self-taught folk painter, was an illiterate local villager from Tainan, Taiwan. (see fig.2) ☞ Ju Ming is a Taiwanese sculptor who attained fame in Taiwan in the 1970s, and in New York City in 1983. (see fig.3)

fig.1 Chen, C. (1930) The bridge in Shanghai. Photo courtesy of Chen, C.

☞ Adaw Palaf Langasan is a contemporary indigenous performing artist, choreographer and founder of Langasan Theatre who comes from Tafalong tribe of Amis, a group of indigenous people who live in Hualien, Taiwan. He inspired me a lot not only the dance, but the spirit and respect towards the culture and nature.

fig.2 Hung, T. Untitled. Photo courtesy of Hung, T.

fig.3 Ju, M. (1986) Taichi Series. Photo courtesy of Ju, M.

fig.4 Langasan Theatre (2014) Misa-Lisin. Photo courtesy of Langasan, A.

The Taiwanese indigenous dance at my high school, 2012.

identity / This is about identity, consciousness and the confusion of myself. The faces are like fragments inside my body, doubting myself, doubting my country, doubting who I am to be, doubting what I see. The only thing for sure is that I was born a Taiwanese though I am often confused of how I define or identify myself and my country while I find it hard to position myself in this country, and it is not only the political and international cause that formed this chaotic

society, but the ignorance and lack of self identification we the people are. Each expression on the faces is the metaphor of how I see and experience. It is personal, emotional, yet national. I ain't Chinese, nor Japanese. However I don't really know how to explain and declare my country when somebody says, 'What's the difference between China and Taiwan?", "Aren't they the same?', 'Is Taiwan a country?' I never considered myself as Chinese, but how come when we declare ourselves as Taiwanese becomes a political, international and sensitive issue?

People identify themselves as indigenes, Taiwanese, Han, Hakka, Taiwanese new immigrants, and so on. Beyond these diverse cultures, Chinese culture has a huge impact on Taiwan. The traditions, religions, Lunar calendar, etc. Like my family, we practice many traditions and celebrate festivals from the Chinese culture like most of the Taiwanese do. I know we had ancestors who were Chinese, the indigenous, even one from the Netherlands. Yet we do not call ourselves ' indigenes', nor 'Chinese'. Most of the time, when people see me, they automatically would think I am either Chinese or Japanese. When I introduce my country, some either think there is no such difference between China and Taiwan, or they have never heard of this country. Last year, at the BCU International Student Festival, all students wore their own traditional costumes apart from our group. For myself, Chinese and the indigenous traditions are parts of our culture, however, I do not belong to neither of the groups. I admire and respect the indigenous people and the cultures, yet I am not allowed to wear their costumes (it is regarded as disrespectful for outsiders to wear their costumes), and not mentioning the Chinese traditional clothes. We canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t deny the importance of Chinese culture in Taiwan, but I wouldn't choose to wear a Chinese garment or Cheongsam.

This confusing phenomenon happens in Taiwan. People have their own ideas of who they are and where they belong to. The political position of Taiwan is complicated and hard to explain. Some people are brainwashed by the pro-Chinese parties and become blind followers; some are strongminded and willing to step up for the country even by breaking the laws. Ignorance is fatal for one country which makes the people easy to fall for one side that might not be right and better for the country, or no idea what is going on at the moment. I am partly like this kind of people but the confusion takes over the most part. This is why I am making a series of masks/facesâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;a mask as a disguise, a protection, or showing people what they want to see, what makes sense in their mind. I chose clay as the material itself is original, delicate and fragile like humanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s minds.

Materials & artists references / Taiwan-related objects: fig.5 Hakka textiles (known as Taiwanese fabric) fig.6 Taiwanese traditional print/fabric. fig.7 and fig.8 Taiwanese indigenous fabrics.

The flag of Taiwan.

This flag was created for the Chinese Nationalist Party dating back to the time when the Chinese nationalist government took control of Taiwan after they were defeated by the Government of China. It is controversial not because it is a party flag but it means we Taiwanese solute fig.5

to a flag that belongs to a party that

fig.6

has made a terrible massacre and

countless persecutions against the Taiwanese from 1947 to 1987. It is ironic for myself to see those who love this country and stand for the independence waving this flag. Even outside of Taiwan, I do feel complicated to see it.

fig.7 fig.8

The cyan flag of Taiwan & The flag of Taiwanese Independence. The logo in the middle is the image of the word 'Tai ( ĺ?° )' which has been used during the occupation of Japan; the dark blue stands for the sea, the white for the waves, and the green mountain for the land of the Taiwanese indigenes. These flags are designed by a coffee

shop owner, Denis Chen who's also a social activist. These appear in many political or social events and protests in Taiwan, however, this does not officially F l a g s o f Ta i w a n e s e

represent the nation, just from the

Independence. Image

individual standpoints.

courtesy of Chen, C.

>>>> Drawing or sculpturing humans is not what I am good at. Therefore, I picked three important Taiwanese figures to practice before I started working with clay; just to get familiar with the outlines of human faces. <<<< 1. Mona Rudo ( 莫那魯道 ; 1880-1930) was the chief of Seediq tribe of Taiwanese indigenes. A hero during the Japanese rule of Taiwan.

18 2. Then Yí-hièn ( 鄧雨賢 ; 1906-1944), a Taiwanese Hakka composer a.k.a. The Father of Taiwanese folk music. 3. Chiú Ūi-súi ( 蔣渭水 ; 1890-1931) was the founder of Taiwanese Cultural Association and the Taiwanese People’s Party. He was one of the most important figures in Taiwan’s Resistance Movement against the Japanese rule.

W hat happens when you are holding a Taiwanese passport? >>>>

There are 148 countries you can go visafree, including the Schengen regions. However, there are some countries do not approve such passports. People with Taiwan passports are often having hard time when passing the customs. Even, in Taiwan, it is not allowed to cover anything on the cover, especially on the title. When

you are stopped by the customs officers, you will be taken into a room, and asked to remove the stickers or whatever you put I scratched the title 'Rpublic of China; covered the

on the passport, or they will file a report

title and party logo with stickers

as a record. It shows the power of politics and the pro-Chinese behind this policy. I usually go through the e-gate to avoid checking by those officers, so I haven't encountered such situation.

>>>> What's on the passport? On the cover, the title is printed 'Republic of China ( 中華民國）' in Mandarin and the English version below; a logo of the Nationalist Party in the middle, then the word 'Taiwan' below it, and the word 'Passport' in bilingual at the bottom. On the first page which shows personal details, the nationality is written 'Taiwan

(Republic of China)'. This is such a joke to all the Taiwanese. The government is not able to change it because of many political reasons. Taiwan still can't get rid of the name, 'Republic of

The customs officers often ask us why we are Taiwanese but holding a Chinese passport, and some even reject these kind of passports. A passport that tells the story of the sorrow from this democratic country; It is sad to see a country famous for its democracy yet can't do anything about it.

China (R.O.C.)'.

Family Stories / >>>>

My mother’s side: My mother’s family name is Lu ( 呂 ). It was changed to Miyakawa ( 宮川 ), a Japanese surname, during the occupation of Japan as a policy in Taiwan because the Japanese government wanted all the Taiwanese to be converted to the Japanese emperor. During that time, people spoke Japanese as the first language, received Japanese education.

It is why the people from that generation (my great grandfather and grandfather’s) still speak Japanese but barely Mandarin, and my grandfather only watched Japanese TV shows and news. It did not pass to the next generation, but at home, we still greet each other in Japanese. The only persons who use (used) Miyakawa as the family name are my great grandfather and my uncle. My great grandfather was an artist at that time. His name was Lu, Chun-Cheng ( 呂春成 ; 1903-1972) before he changed to Miyakawa Seisuke ( 宮川誠介）. He fled to Japan because of some political reason after the Chinese Nationalist

government took control of Taiwan. He then started a new family in Japan. My grandfather and uncle have seen the family once at his funeral in Japan. According to my mother’s family, there was a Dutch ancestor hundreds of years ago either during the occupation of the Dutch, or after that. This is part of the reasons my cousins who have curly hair and clear facial features are often mistaken as foreigners in Taiwan. >>>>

My father’s side: We had Chinese ancestors like most of the Taiwanese. Counting from the first generation who settled in Taiwan, and my father is the 24th.

>>>> Taiwan (Republic of China???) / Female/ Asian / Black hair / You / Me / She / Uses chopsticks / Under Japan, Next to China / Can't distinguish red, green or blue / Having hot pot with rice. <<<<

This is a list I wrote to point out who I am in relation to my identity.

â&#x2DC;&#x17E;

Johnson Tsang

is a Hong Kong-born

contemporary artist and ceramist who is well-known for his surrealist imagination and lifelike, delicate sculpturing technique. I was inspired by his work, and how playful he can be on clay, as well as liaising public issues into his work.

Tsang, J. Lucid Dream II series, 2018. Photo courtesy of Tsang, J.

☞

Grayson Perry 's project, Who are You?, at National

Portrait Gallery, London, 2014. Grayson Perry turns his attention to identity as he creates portraits - from tapestries to sculptures and pots - of diverse individuals who are all trying to define who they are. He said, “Our identity is something we perform over a lifetime, so this idea that we are this static thing, I think, is an illusion. We are a series of bits of baggages, but eventually they build up into this ongoing, lifelong artwork that is our individual identity. And we feel it and we live it and we perform it.”

Perry, G. Who are You?, National Po r t r a i t G a l l e r y, 2 0 1 4 . P h o t o courtesy of Perry, G.

☞ Loyet ( 羅

葉 ) known as Ye Luo, was a Taiwanese poet,

writer, teacher, and social movement activist. He participated in several significant social movements and political protests during the period of martial law in Taiwan; he founded an underground press, The Love of Freedom, to pursue the justice in the society. His poems and articles are sharp, sarcastic, and revealed the corruption of the society. He was my literature teacher, and I was inspired by his thoughts and work, especially the poems about the society and share the ideas of my project. His poems I translated from Chinese to

English below point out the facts about Taiwan; it's ugly, harsh but it's the truth.

>>>>

Still

《亦是》

Consciousness' kidnapped this tender land,

意識曾經綁架過這塊柔軟的土地

House of Commons' raped this silent society,

議事

The chivalrous' endorsed this freedom of terror;

曾經強暴過這個沈默的社會

The anecdote's scanned through the hearts of the residents,

義士曾經背書過這片恐怖的自由

The episode's embellished the elegance of the moguls';

軼事

The smooth path's been demonstrated by the recluse.

曾經凝視過這群住民的內心逸事曾經點綴過這撮權貴的風雅

Still,

逸士

Under that all-year, on dutied armour of politics,

曾經示範過這條路線的平順亦是

We shall be back to yesterday's solecism

在全年無休的政治掛帥裡

For a single misstep we take today.

今日正確的我們踏錯一步便又回到昨天的謬誤

<<<<

《訊息》在思想管制的年代

>>>>

不被報導的訊息就不存在

Messages The unreported messages do not exist in this mind-controlled era;

在媒體解放的年代被報導過的訊息很快很快

There was this time,

也就被忘記

Newspapers were cherished like the Records of the Grand Historian1.

曾經有一段時期報紙像史記

The reported messages are quickly forgotten in the era of media-liberation.

These days, news is like the junk food in the fast food restaurant, Wolfing down, then excreting out.

那樣子值得珍惜

如今新聞像速食店的垃圾食物讓人們狼吞虎嚥而後排泄出去 1

It is a monumental history of ancient China and the world finished around 94 BC by the Han dynasty official Sima Qian.

<<<<

>>>>

Climate of Opinion

《輿論》

In the time of the towering authority,

在權威聳立的年代許許多多樁事件

There is only one explanation for the hundreds of cases.

都只有一種說法

在權威倒塌的時代

In the time of the collapse of the authority,

一小樁事件

A single case could have thousands of explanations.

出現許許多多種說法

在民意冬眠的時代

In the time of the hibernation of the public will,

渴望自由的腦袋

The mind longs for freedom, yet

都不太敢張開嘴巴

Is too terrified to open the mouth. 在民意驚蟄的時代獲得自由的嘴巴

In the time of Insects' Waken2 of the public will,

往往又掙脫了腦袋

The mouth gets the freedom, but Gets rid of the mind.

Insects' Waken is one

of the 24 Solar Terms

<<<<

which is in early March. It means 'being active' in the text.

I started with a face based on my brotherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s look. This was the first face I made which took me more than 4 days. I focused on working on the details of the face.

It took time to accomplish, yet I felt like these are simply faces, nothing more to tell. It did not respond to my project idea.

32 The face of Mona Rudo. This face represents the Taiwanese indigenes, therefore I chose him for my reference.

Work in Progress Show/

33 What I wanted to show on this mask was the ignorance. Closed eyes, peaceful face with a mailbox hole on the fore head, sorbing a bunch of newspaper. Nowadays, fake news is not news to people, but the ones believe it or choose to believe.

>>>>

What’s missing?

This display at the Work in Progress show was too peaceful to show such emotions and the ‘identity’. The idea was covered up by the irrelevant objects although these were Taiwan-related yet it didn’t show the core idea of my project. These were good materials. They just needed to be in the right place. The two masks showed nice details of the faces, however it didn’t show much of my original idea - conflicted identity of being a Taiwanese. After the assessment, I was suggested to try different ways to bring out the idea on the clay.

I was stuck and confused about what I could do better to show my idea on my work. While I was suggested to try different materials, I then tried the easiest way by pinching out the simple outlines of a man's face, and combined it with other media and methods like ropes, threads, stitchings, pins, and different bindings. <<<<

The blind which shows the ignorance people can be by not pursuing the truth and following like sheep.

I found it easier to show the tension and uncomfortable feelings on the simpleoutlined faces rather than carving fine details.

This man tries to speak or make a sound while his eyes, face, nose and mouth are

tied up. This happens when you speak too much, have too many opinions and being expressive. You can't talk about Taiwanese independence to a Chinese or make it public outside of Taiwan. Well, you would put yourself in jeopardy if you do: being silenced, put in prison, organ harvesting alive by the Chinese Communist Party, or just disappear in China like the Taiwanese journalist Lee Ming-zhe. This is one of the ways China controls their people and tries the same on Taiwan and Hong Kong.

The China Licker ( 舔共）as its name implies, the person who is Taiwanese and also a proChinese; always stands with the Chinese Communist Party, and views China as their homeland. It is a phrase used to call some people like this. I visualised this word into a sculpture - with his eyes closed, mouth wide opened smiling, not knowing he is abandoning his country and how democracy means for a country and its people; or he is just being ignorant.

>>>> All the Chinese communication including the applications in phones are wiretapped. Anyone mentions some sensitive words will be recorded. When my friend was in China, I accidentally spoke of democracy in Taiwan, and she just hanged up and texted me not to talk about such topic while she in China and using WeChat. <<<< This man with pins pinned on his mouth is a metaphor of freedom of speech. I painted the pins in red and blue which are the symbol of the Chinese Nationalist Party in Taiwan and the flag of China. In Taiwan, speaking freely won't cause any trouble, yet, can't get rid of the political force behind this democratic country; the political stunt, pressure from China, and the infiltration of Chinese companies and unequal policies have made between the government and China.

45 This Facepalm is a display of frustration, disappointment, exasperation, embarrassment, s ho c k , s u r pr i s e , e x h a u s t ion , sarcasm, and incredulous disbelief. This is my mood when I think about who I am and the state of Taiwan.

>>>> There will be only five pieces I would be presenting in the

exhibition. After several turorials with my tutors, I picked my favourite five which I think are the most successful ones that speak out my ideas of this project. <<<<

Photo courtesy of Soha Malik.

Building the future / I had never thought about what I would be doing in the future when I chose this course. It did not bother at all since I was choosing what I liked to do. Then 3 years later, it freaked me out; alomst everybody in the class has already got or about to start their small business, or wants further education. They all got their PLANS. Being a vet, hairdresser, bus driver, interpreter, writer, florist, or open a cafe had been in my impractical mind when I was a kid. These are

possibilities yet wouldn't suit me at the moment.

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