《 #籠罩下的巨大哀愁 》
正式開展啦～
歡迎各位到台北當代藝術館

/
詳細資訊｜https://reurl.cc/bXy09v

________________________________________________

A Dark Cloud of Sorrow Looms Over

by Yu-Jun LIN

Late mornings and sleepless nights. Frustration. Anxiety.

They seem to have infiltrated our consciousness and entered our dreams. We recognize the shape of eaves, the folding line of streets, and return to our dwelling coordinates where we hide and live. We see restless men and women in full feather wandering through the brightly-lit city and then sitting shoulder to shoulder with countless strangers, between countless walls.

In the 1970s, urbanism started paving its way into Taiwan. Bidding farewell to the landscape of an agricultural society, life thus became crowded and repressive in cities. The meaning of “urbanism” does not merely lie in towering skyscrapers but in altered landscapes, living conditions, isolation and loneliness as well as increasingly complex social issues. Submerged in the capitalist system, every person has been assumed as a tiny component, whose labor force is needed by the whole mechanism, but not with one’s individuality as well.

However, the construction of liberalism constantly reminds us of our own subjectivity, along with the importance of being viewed as a whole. Such contradictory values leads to extreme unease and confusion that keeps building up and ceaselessly floods our minds with external chaos. As worries that never subside loom over us, we are forced to retreat to our dwellings, where we are perfectly alone, and safe. We can uninhibitedly be ourselves – yet under the lingering dark cloud of sorrows.

Frustrating questions as “Who am I?” seem to return in lonesome nights, invariably. When night falls, myriads of dazzling lights glisten in innumerous windows at the near distance. Gazing into the dreamlike, transient light, we recall things we hope to seal for good in our troubled mind. We question again and again, about what role we should be playing to integrate into the society but still maintain the integrity of our own subjectivity.

A Dark Cloud of Sorrow Looms Over features eight selected pieces and delineates the question of how people, as individuals, should coexist with others, a question deriving from urbanites’ perceptual conflicts experiences.

Zheng Er Qi | People
“People” mirrors the phenomenon of Taiwan’s transition from being an agricultural society to city since 1970. It precisely portrays everyday urbanity that people nowadays are familiar with: Although millions of people reside on one spot, their recognition of one another fails to grow with urbanization, despite the presumable nearness.

Chung Chih Ting｜I Am by Your Side
With the explanation by an offscreen sound and the roleplay image, “I Am by Your Side” depicts how urbanites try to be in company, revealing people’s natural urge for social connection. Yet it ends up to be talking to oneself or pointless mumbles, simply a futility of communication.

Wu Bo Sian | Chimps with Mona Lisa’s Smile
In the video, the chimpanzees form a spectacle, say, abnormality, in a seemingly normal context. “Chimps with Mona Lisa’s Smile” is a response to conflicts between public administration and individual freedom, zooming in on the contradictions or constraints between all the intervenable and the non-intervenable in everyday scenes.

Wang Ding Yeh | One-One
“One-One” depicts how people try to maintain an intact, rational space of survival while sometimes fail to avoid transgressing, under limited resources in a highly competitive society. With much precision, it captures the specific default interpersonal distance, and poses the question: How should each person navigate to find the best living posture at the moment?

Tsai Jie | When the Dust Settles
“When the Dust Settles” shows people restlessly beating on a possible exit to get out. However, does such an exit really exist? Or is it simply a delusion stemming from one’s untamable impetuosity? The work reflects the desolation of men and women, who are rumbustious, but aimless.

Huan Yen Chiao | 1, 2, 3. Are You Already in Hiding, Fish?
Fish in the bowl resembles people trapped in cities: extravagant outfits, splashing neon lights; sensational visual effects indeed. “1, 2, 3. Are You Already in Hiding, Fish?” presents how people escape from their anxiety and weariness for the time being. The work highlights the entire incompatibility and a sense of solitude after one’s subjectivity is highly developed.

Wong Shu Lian | I found myself floating and sinking down once in a while
The work addresses the enduring controversy between liberalism and capitalism that have been engendering people’s inner conflicts. It captures one’s self-doubt and angst in a profound way while, by exploring how to determine one’s best position, raises the ultimate question – Who are we after all?

Chen Chia Jen | SWEETWATER
“SWEETWATER” was born under Chen’s reflections during his artistinresidence experience in Southeast Asia. Between people living in urban and rural areas, there is a grand difference of perspectives, regarding how to survive and live a good life. It implies the fact that the widely-recognized future image, constructed by our society, might not be as clear or real as it seems, or perhaps what people accepted is simply a vague, even somehow out-of-focus, prospect.
＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿

《籠罩下的巨大哀愁》展覽資訊
展覽日期｜2021/08/07(Sat.) ─ 09/12(Sun.)
展覽地點｜台北當代藝術館廣場電視牆 MoCA Plaza LED TV Wall
播映時間｜ Mon. ─ Sun. 16:00-21:00

特別感謝｜ 贊助單位
厭世會社 @mis.society

#王鼎曄 #吳柏賢 #陳嘉壬 #黃彥超 #黃淑蓮 #蔡傑 #鄭爾褀 #鍾知庭 #林郁晉 #A_Dark_Cloud_of_Sorrow_Looms_Over
#MisanthropeSociety厭世會社
#厭世會社

The word Faubourg recalls not only 24 Faubourg Saint-Honoré, but the tumult of a street, the energetic bustle of a city. In a fantasy city built of collages, the Spring-Summer 2021 looks stand out with ardour and impetuosity.
h.fr/TheFaubourgOdyssey