測繪十年 The Topography of a Decade

測繪十年

在一般的認知中，「十」總被認為是「完滿」的象徵，因為它帶有「周而復始」、「回歸與再啟程」的意義。 「十年」作為一個階段的達成，這個數字的視覺意象如同一條銜尾蛇般頭接尾，又像是在開展之中不斷循 環、持續變化的碎形世界。同時，它也像使我們站在「跨越」的邊界上同時回顧過去和望向未來。正因這 些意涵，立方計劃空間所走過的「十年」不只是一個數字，它還是一個測量與描繪的線索，引導我們去重 新思索二十一世紀的台灣文化空間生產經驗和可能的未來期許。

從 2010 年至 2019 年為止，立方計劃空間以不同形式與超過兩百位的創作者、策展人及文化行動者合作過， 策劃執行了五十多檔規模不一的展覽，以及上百場大大小小公眾性的表演與講座論壇活動。如果我們把在 這個過程中所呈現的視為個體和群體對生活的世界的探索、感知與思辨，那麼或許也可以經由回顧立方這 十年來所曾關注過的創作與實踐，再「測繪」出一段實際上並不限於十年的更為宏觀的時代樣貌。這個「測 繪」的手段，正如同人類期冀通過各種觀測數據和經驗去累積、勾劃，並對生活與環境進行瞭解。

因此「測繪」是一個動態的過程，它無時無刻不在進行中。而立方的自我定位正是企圖以廣義的策展作為 方法去實踐，以搭建創意的另類知識生產平台。在實體空間上，立方位於公館的所在之處，前身是一個已 被現代城市的發展渦漩所淘汰的老旅館，它的過去以某種時間過程、空間轉化的意義微妙地聯結了它現在 的身分。已故的文化行動者李士傑在為立方規劃 2018 年「學實學校」的講座主題時曾提出「差異旅店」 這個概念，某程度上，它正生動地描述了當代關於「（文化）空間生產」理想中的某種特質：支持和構建 一個容納「差異」聲音、向群眾（來自各地與遠方的客人）開放，並願意開啟交流對話的「驛站」。今日， 在這個凡事趨向同質聚合、而各種意識型態又不斷刻劃其邊界藩籬的世界，「差異旅店」的意象則更顯現 了它可能的想像與思辨價值。

作為十週年展覽的「測繪十年」，並非僅是要回顧立方過去的十年，更希望的是通過時間作為參照，來對 我們的生存時空進行再思考。在此之中，我們得以檢視自上個世紀以來人類經歷的移動、離散或聚合，戰 爭、病疫、災難的發生乃至於人與歷史、人與自然的關係的課題，同時，也對曾經洋溢的科技樂觀主義和 經濟全球化的生存價值進行新的評估。立方邀請了曾經合作過的七位藝術家──台灣的侯俊明、陳界仁、 鄧兆旻，來自香港的李傑、馬來西亞的區秀詒、柬埔寨的萬迪拉塔那及中國的鄭波，從他們兼具知性與感 性的觀察、田野研究等不同的視角出發來進行不同層面的探索。參展作品雖非全數新作，而如今觀之，有 些作品詩意地預見了今日動盪的世界，甚至可能是即將來到的變局，這或許是因為歷史總是驚人地相似， 也或許歷史早就激起敏感的藝術家對環境及文明發展的思忖。

在這個特別的時間點，「測繪」仍是持續的思想行動。立方計劃空間一方面以此對所有曾經與我們合作過、 啟發我們的朋友，以及曾給予立方計劃空間不同形式的熱忱支持的個人、同儕團體表達由衷的感激，另一 方面，我們也期待藉這個機會積極審視一個藝術微型機構在當下時代所能扮演的角色，並從中提取、凝聚 出更多關於未來實踐的方法和信念。

The Topography of a Decade

In general understanding, “ten” is emblematic of “consummation,” for it implies “cycle” as well as “reset and restart.” We celebrate the “ten-year” milestone in the development of TheCube Project Space. The visual imagery of the number of ten resembles not only an ouroboros but also a fractal world that continues unfolding in a cyclical and ever-changing fashion. In the meantime, it refers to our retrospect of the past and prospect of the future from the perspective of a boundary crosser. In view of these implications, “ten” is not merely a number that denotes the decade of TheCube’s operation, but also a clue for the topographic mapping that guides us to rethink the experience of cultural production in Taiwan and its prospects in the 21st century.

From 2010 to 2019, TheCube had collaborated with upwards of 200 artists, curators and cultural practitioners in various forms, organizing more than 50 exhibitions and over 100 public performances, talks and forums in different scale. If we construe the entire process as individuals’ and a group’s exploration, cognition and reasoning of the world we live in, we may also make a more macroscopic topography beyond our current horizons via the works and practices that TheCube followed closely over the past decade. The topographic approach is ergo tantamount to human beings’ attempt to depict and grasp their living environment by amassing observational data and experiences of all stripes.

Accordingly, the “topographic mapping” here is a dynamic, ongoing process, and TheCube orientates itself exactly toward building a creative, alternative platform of knowledge production by employing curatorial practice in a broader sense. TheCube is physically located in Taipei’s Gongguan District, in a building that was formerly a hotel and steeped in history over the course of urban development. TheCube’s past subtly embodied its current identity through a sui generis process of spatio-temporal transformation. The late cultural practitioner Shih-Chieh llya Li formulated the concept of “difference inn” when he was organizing the lecture series for the 2018 Praxis School. To some degree, the concept vividly depicts an ideal quality of contemporary (cultural) spatial production: supporting and constructing an “inn” as differencetolerant as open to the multitude (i.e., guests from all corners of the world) for exchange and dialogue. Today, the imagery of “difference inn,” along with the imagination and reasoning it inspired, has found a more powerful expression in the world where everything is homogenized while ideological barriers are incessantly erected.

As TheCube’s tenth anniversary exhibition, The Topography of a Decade is intended not only to review TheCube’s artistic practice over the past ten years, but also to rethink the space-time we live in from the temporal dimension. Thus, we are able to examine the issues concerning human migration, diaspora and aggregation, the occurrence of wars, pandemics and disasters, as well as the humanity-history and humanity-nature relations since the 20th century. Besides, through this exhibition, we seek to re-evaluate the once prevailing technological opportunism and the value of existence under economic globalization. Featuring seven artists who had previously collaborated with TheCube (incl. Hou Chun-Ming, Chen Chieh-Jen, and Teng Chao-Ming from Taiwan, Lee Kit from Hong Kong, Au Sow-Yee from Malaysia, Vandy Rattana from Cambodia, and Zheng Bo from China), this exhibition sets out on an exploratory journey across different aspects from their diverse perspectives, field surveys, and observations that reconcile sense and sensibility. Although not all the exhibits are newly created, some of them poetically portended

today’s turbulent world and even the imminent changes. Perhaps “history repeats itself” explains such coincidence, or history has already galvanized astute artists to ponder on the environment and the progress of civilization.

At this special moment, topographic mapping continues to be an ongoing thinking–action. On the one hand, we would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to those who had cooperated with as well as inspired and supported us in different forms. On the other hand, we seize this opportunity to examine the roles that a micro artistic institution can play at the present time, through which we will extract and pioneer more methods and convictions for future practice.