KeyVision

展覽
論述

在幾次與友人的談話中,皆不免在言詞間透露了對於離開家後尋求方向的焦慮感,這是個涵納各種複雜意識的巨大問題,也涉及個別較為私人的情感拉扯與對未來規劃的路向。如果順著每段對話間語調的梳理,種種而論的焦慮似乎皆隱約歸因於「離開」這件事,而離開意謂了移動,往前行進的同時,「過去」也在後方漫漫的延展開來。若得對照自己的經驗,也許總在離開熟悉的環境以後,才能開始反覆思索地方之於我的連結,「和解」也在此刻有了發生的可能。而這個「地方」不僅指稱一個地理上的位置,亦意謂了一種養成環境,甚至是當時所對照的心境與生命狀態。倘若站得遠一點觀看,視野一併將後方也納入,「我們往哪裡去」這樣命題的題旨也就逐漸清晰起來。

為了向前行進所以必須轉身,本次展覽便是希望藉由藝術家各自在「離開」與「回返」的行進過程中,重探其間的各種可能。而他們的作品大抵能看出關注著某種關係狀態:試圖在人與其置身環境間描繪出某種移置經驗,並對於該經驗各自作出了應答,以回應屬於個人某段時期的生命體驗。而這些經驗若放置到更為寬廣的社會敘事中,則無可避免的映照了某種政治向度,甚至對於文化主體的焦慮,其來源正是島嶼那傷痕累累且面貌模糊不清的主權與歷史。

模糊的歷史續接難以明確指認的主體狀態,以致感受在移接環境時顯得微弱不明,而錯位的接合則導致疏離的產生。陳以軒的《遍尋無處》來自於紐約求學時體會到的文化相異,而這樣的感受尤在短暫回台的假期中特別強烈,遂以此扞格的感受為基礎,逐步以身行旅途並效仿美國公路攝影,沿路在台灣的城鄉間拍攝位處景觀「縫隙」的場景,回應自身在異域文化相衝中難以消解的疏離感;吳思嶔的作品《伊利薩山》與《untitled》,則透過個人旅行經驗,由旅者的身份描繪眼中的當地樣貌,同時亦參照了對於故土的想像與經驗疊合,以日記形式的感性口吻,敘述屬於自我生命的一段記事;前二者以外向的移置經驗為基礎,透過創作狀態重新探看個體乃至文化的存在姿態,李奎壁的《永利一號培育計畫》則是轉為內向的移置,在回返的過程中勘求認同意識。藝術家在外婆逝世後返家處理相關事務,無意發現從前外婆以鮮豔花布裁縫的衣服,由此出發尋找花布上無名花卉,同時回溯與舊日家族息息相關的產業史——關於布莊與紡織,以及城市區域的盛衰,伴隨台南幫在政治舞台上的興盛有著不一樣的發展。而後在農業改良場的實驗室分析與育種玩家的協助下,重新培育出花布上的花卉。

而盛開的花朵來自揉雜的混種,一如島嶼所承接的斷續歷史接合,我們急欲尋找佚失的主體性位置,在迷濛前景中探詢路向的可能,然而牽絆我們的是至今難分難捨的權力欲謀。如同部分去殖論述所強調:指認的舉動在此時顯得必然重要,不論對於過去或是當前,認清癥結便是為了重新癒合。似是陳以軒的攝影場景中無盡等待的物件,在一次性快門順間捕捉了我們一眼便能望出的在地符號。其間透過空間的移置經驗轉換而更加彰顯,因此在閱讀吳思嶔對於地理象徵的移情銜接中,將異地的山脈接在台灣的山頭,這樣刻意誤指一體的方式,其實更加確立對於主體投射的互映。而這些「指認」,最後則回應在永利計畫中,回溯生命敘事而再建構出的政治文本中。

此次展名來自莊子在《逍遙遊》中以「無何有之鄉」所諭示的烏托邦,一座含有遼闊原野的虛無寂寥之土。然而我則偏好字義上所指稱的深邃之處,不僅關乎了一種理想境地的投射,亦反映了各件作品中所指向的狀態——無論外向或內裡;意指一切的投射最終仍是引往了原鄉之處,無不正是我們所處的位置;儘管曖昧不明是此刻此地最為確切的描述與所指。而離開與回返,則在焦慮、疏離等各式交錯矛盾的情緒中,不斷重新再想像與尋找身分歸屬。至此我則想起了在與藝術家聊天時的一段話:有時當我們處在關係裡面時,那個感覺是很輕的,唯有將自身抽離環境以後,對於關係的感受,才會越來越明顯。


During a couple conversations with friends, a common sense of anxiety about finding a direction after school was revealed. This is a broad issue that encompasses many complicated thoughts, which also concerns the more private emotional conflicts of each individual and their respective orientations for future plans. If we follow the pattern of each conversation, it would appear that these various anxieties all result from the matter of "leaving". "Leaving" signifies "moving", and as one moves forward, the "past" begins to stretch endlessly behind. Further comparing with my many years of experience with leaving home, perhaps it's possible to begin thinking about the tie between a "place" and me only after leaving the familiar environment, and only then is "reunion" possible. This "place" isn't merely a geographical location, but also a context of becoming, or even the mental state and condition of life at a particular timeframe. If we take a further step back, we can incorporate the past into our observation as well; the purpose of the question: ''where will we go from here? '' then gradually becomes clear.

This exhibition thus aims to re-investigate, through artists, the possibilities and implications of the process of "leaving" and "returning". Their works reveal a focus on a particular form of relation: attempting to describe certain experiences of displacement between a person and his/her surrounding environment. By responding to their respective experiences, they converse with the events that belong to particular periods of their lives. When one places these experiences in the broader context of the societal discourse, they inevitably garner a certain political dimension, or a general anxiety towards the cultural subjectivity. These originate precisely from the colonial history of Taiwan and the various interpretation thereof.

An ambiguous history joined with an uncertain subjectivity causes one's senses to weaken when situated in a displaced-environment, while a disjointed bond leads to a feeling of distance. Chen Yi-Hsuen's "Nowhere in Taiwan" begins with his perception of a difference in culture when he studied abroad in New York. This feeling is especially prominent when he returns home to Taiwan on short holidays. Using this conflicting sensation as the basis, Chen personally traveled to Taiwanese towns and cities, and through recording the "cracks" of the Taiwanese landscape continuity in the style of American highway photography, he responds to the irreconcilable feeling of distance when confronted with a culture of a different place. In Wu Shi-Chin's ''Mt. Eliza'' and ''Untitled'', the artist describes foreign scenes through his perspective as a traveler and simultaneously references his imagination and experience of his homeland. Taking a sentimental tone, almost akin to that of a personal diary, Wu narrates a series of events that belong to his life. The previous two artists take experiences of outward displacement as the basis of their re-investigation, through the artistic process, of the individual and culture's form of existence. On the contrary, Li Kuei-Pi's "Yong-Li No.1 Breeding Program" explores an inward displacement. He investigates the sense of identity through the "returning" process: when the artist returned home to take care of things after his grandmother had passed, he came across some of her clothes made from colorful floral fabric. From this, he embarked on a journey in search of the nameless flowers on the fabric; simultaneously, he retraced the industrial history closely intertwined with the past of the family, such as fabric shops, the textiles craft, and the rise and fall of the surrounding regions. By working in a lab at an Agricultural Research and Extension Station and garnering help from plant-breeding hobbyists, Lee revived the breed of flowers on his grandmother's clothes.

The title of this exhibition is inspired by the utopia named "Wu-He-You-Zhi-Xiang" in Zhuangzi, Free and Easy Wandering, which is depicted as a place with an endless extension of empty, desolate plains. However, I prefer the literal, yet profound meaning of the Chinese words "Wu-He-You-Zhi-Xiang", which not only implies a connection with an ideal realm, but also reflects the state that each of the works here point to, regardless of their focus on inward or outward displacement. The artists' reflections with differing meanings ultimately converge on the "homeland", precisely where we are located right now, even if ambiguousness is the most fitting definition of the here and now. On the other hand, "leaving" and "returning", under the feelings of anxiety, distance, and various conflicting emotions, become ceaseless acts of re-imagination and searches for belonging. Here, I'm reminded of the words from a chat with an artist: "Sometimes, when we are in the midst of a relation, it is almost unnoticeable. Only when one withdraws from the surrounding environment do our feelings towards this relation become clearer and stronger."