- Matérialité Recherche-Création｜物質性創作研究計畫
Expo｜MÊ ME - Lieux sans lieux
14. 06 - 14. 08. 2022 New Taipei Gallery, Taïwan
海是液態的夜
詩意經過了消磨與封存
留下來及手可觸的
只不過是一些感動不了人的感受
我們仍然／依舊無聲地描述著
海浪捲起抽走的那一片空
每一枚字在確定意義的同時 磨出刮痕
但它依舊安靜
它仍然是那個
乾淨 乾燥
保持沈默的那個什麼
比空無更容易留在心頭
Approche｜MÊ／ME - Lieux sans lieux
Texte｜Artistes LIN Yu-Ta , CHUANG Hsin-I
Vision en anglais traduite par Louis Minnaar
The title of the exhibition, 仍然依舊 (mê/me), does not conform to the logic of grammatical structure and it is not a sentence, yet it conveys a playful sense of emptiness or meaninglessness. The characters 仍然 and 依舊 are synonyms meaning still or as before. Through this, the artists pose a metaphysical question: Is to remain the same, equal to being unchanged? The French word la même (the same), is broken into a “double” that repeats with subtle differences as mê/me. This gesture asks if “repetition” changes the state of being, or if it is possible to return to the “same”? The provocative exhibition title opens up the possibility of meaning, creating a gap, a moment of anticipation, “waiting” for the next sentence…
Language has the potential to break away from the intention of the subject, at the same time retaining traces of subjective being. This break is also present in the pauses between utterances, the speaker’s inhalations and exhalations, a fissure that disrupts our basic understanding of the world through signification.
From the moment we enter the exhibition, an obscure path presents itself: a centrifugal fold that guides us in subtle ways through the space. This is a movement in thought of the “same” through “repetition” that never returns to “sameness”. Each iteration brings an awareness of elapsed time (again/no longer) and the splitting of space (in/out). The state of walking is depicted as one step towards the future and one step into the past, while the body is stuck in the middle connecting the two. This ambiguous path becomes a "placeless place” (lieux sans lieux), where the experience of time is superficial; a space that is utterly self-referential.
Hsin-i CHUANG is an artist living in France, whose work is concerned with the hidden “traces” present in memory. Through the transitional states actively imposed by the materials she works with, the meaning and interpretation of the work is postponed. This deferral of the creative process in turn subverts the perception of the work of art as an object in a fixed state. The work presented in this exhibition provides a good example of her approach. Thousands of wax petals were created with the commonplace gesture of touch. Fingers move over liquid wax, inducing a burning sensation, while forming fingerprints that solidify in the air. These wax shells mark the space of a body that was once present, signifying its presence through absence. France-based artist Yu-Ta LIN extends the material properties of his works into the consumption and transformation of living energy through repeated and simple operations: binding, abrasion and scraping. His arcane practice could be described as a “dubious hypothesis”, or quietly reciting myths pronounced in ancient characters. His work often invokes a feeling of bewilderment in viewers, as it challenges expectations and preconceptions.
Every fingerprint fallen on the ground and every carefully tended tree branch, reinforces the notion of “absent presence”. Subtle perceptions and fragrant particles permeating the air fuse together with our sense of insecurity and loss of privacy in this "placeless place”. It is here that we meet the viewer in a state of indeterminacy.
Exposition soutenue par Cultural Affairs Bureau New Taipei City, présentée à New Taipei Gallery.
本展參展作品由新北市文化局支持補助，於新板藝廊展呈。
MÊ ME-LIEUX SANS LIEUX
Exposition ouverte du
14. 06 au 14. 08. 2022, de 09h à 17h
新板藝廊 New Taipei Gallery
No.166, Hansheng E Rd, Banqiao
District, New Taipei City 220, Taiwan
© 原文發表於2023展覽「仍然／依舊＿沒有場所的場所 MÊ／ME-LIEUX SANS LIEUX」展覽專文、慢談會