從前的未來 Once Upon a Future

展覽日期 Exhibition Duration ｜2020. 05. 30 - 2020. 07. 18
開幕時間 Opening Reception｜2020. 05. 30 (Sat.) 16:00
展覽地點 Venue｜台北日動畫廊 galerie nichido Taipei
展出藝術家 Artist |

區秀詒Au Sow-Yee
布蘇伊˙阿賈Busui Ajaw
張立人 Chang Li-Ren

台北日動畫廊很榮幸地推出聯展「從前的未來（Once Upon a Future）」。展名「從前的未來（Once Upon a Future）」源自於經常在童話故事中所讀到的開場白「從前從前（once upon a time）」。這些故事流傳在世界的各個角落，並在流傳的過程中產生了改變。它們的每一個虛構、甚至變形的面向，都有著根深蒂固的淵源，並藉由對歷史背景、文化、傳統和精神的描述，來揭露新的歷史面向。我們仍然可以從那些故事身上學到教訓，因為它們體現了我們這個時代的痛苦和恐懼，給予了那些被無所不在、各種形式的控制所壓迫的人們一個聲音，那些依舊相信著希望、夢想，和對未來抱持著理想願景的人們。

在這個通過社群網路就可以收集到大量訊息的時代，我們可以即時分享全球各地發生的事情，接觸到前所未聞的故事。但另一方面，海量的訊息不但模糊了我們的判斷力，有時甚至讓真相被誤解。這次展出的三位藝術家，雖然來自不同的背景，但他們都不斷地挖掘自身經驗，並在歷史的長河中來回穿梭，以各自獨特的方式，觸及當代社會下複雜且多樣的議題。此外，他們在展望未來的同時，預測著未來可能會引導我們去面臨的問題。

關於藝術家
-
區秀詒1978年出生於馬來西亞吉隆坡，對影像製造展現出濃厚的興趣，透過裝置與錄像作品研究影像、權力、政治和歷史之間的關係。藝術家將來自殖民與冷戰時期的材料融入自己的作品中，如電影、書籍、文件與當地的口述傳說，遊走於紀錄片與小說之間，試圖揭示東南亞與馬來西亞的潛藏歷史。此次展覽中的作品《宮殿、山谷、島嶼與他們的月球之旅》，聚焦於吉姆．湯普森( Jim Thompson, 1906 -? )神祕地消失在馬來西亞高地的故事，這個神秘且模糊的故事讓許多關於吉姆消失的說法和區秀詒的想像交織在一起，似乎創造了一個新的歷史真相，隨著錄像不斷滾動和散落的拼圖，仍然覆蓋著一層神祕的面紗。(* 吉姆．湯普森（Jim Thompson）是一位美國商人，以對泰國絲綢業的貢獻聞名。)

1986年出生的布蘇伊˙阿賈來自於泰國北部的清萊，她的作品與她的背景密切相關，阿賈來自阿卡族的工匠家庭，這樣的成長過程啟發了她的藝術創作。阿卡族是一個半遊牧的少數民族，居住於東南亞邊境間的高山一帶。她的語言表達能力則來自於口傳文學。口傳文學是阿卡族傳承技法、傳統、歷史和文化的方式，但隨著近年來科技的傳播所帶來的生活方式的改變，這樣的文學正在失傳當中。在作品中，阿賈將這些碎片拼湊起來，並結合她於當今世界親身經歷的片段，體現於畫布上。

張立人1983年出生於台灣，創作許多根基於歷史現實的原創故事，並透過裝置、動畫與錄像方式呈現。法國社會學家及哲學家布希亞（Jean Baudrillard，1929-2007）曾經提出「擬像」（simulation）的概念，藝術家向我們提出警示，因為這樣的擬像不斷的出現在我們生活中，最終可能導致想像與真實的界線徹底崩解，通過電視、電腦等數位科技製造出的影像，從而使人們可以創造出比真實更為真實的圖像。歷時七年創作的《戰鬥之城》首部曲後，此次展覽將展出的《戰鬥之城》二部曲 - 經濟奇蹟之第一篇章，從2018年開始製作，討論了這個時代的各種問題，如經濟、宗教、世界強國、媒體現象和社會結構，動畫中出現的所有模型都是由藝術家一手打造，而第二集製作現正進行中，這件作品的實踐過程可能是張立人的最終目標，也是藝術家的終生志業。

協力單位 | Chi-Wen Gallery (其玟畫廊)


galerie nichido Taipei is pleased to present the group exhibition “Once Upon a Future”. “Once Upon a Future” is a play on words from the common opening line “once upon a time” we find in fables and fairy tales. These stories are told in every corner of the world and many have been handed down over the years while undergoing some changes. Each of their imaginary, sometimes deformed aspects, has well-rooted origins, and reveals new historical facets by portraying historical background, culture, traditions and spirituality. There are still many lessons we can learn from them as they seem to embody the fear and anguish of our time, giving voice to those who are oppressed by the many forms of control that are present everywhere, yet they seem to hold hope, dreams and an ideal vision of the future.

In a time where it is possible to collect a multitude of information through the spread of SNS, we can now share in real time what’s happening worldwide, and we can also come across small stories we would have never heard of before. On the other side, the overwhelming amount of information can cloud our judgement, and quite sometimes lead to misinterpret the truth. While coming from different backgrounds, all the three artists on view this time dig into their own personal experience and, travelling back and forth through history, each with their unique approach, touch many complicated and diverse issues that belong to contemporary societies. Moreover, they raise issues we, as well, are likely to face, looking at the future and at what it may lead us to.

About the Artist
-
Born in Malaysia, Au Sow-Yee (1978) shows a keen interest in the mechanism of images and investigates the relation among images, authority, politics and history through installation and video works. Loading her works with material from the colonial time and cold war era, such as movies, books, and documents, and with the local oral tradition, the artist is constantly trying to unravel the history of southeast Asia and Malaysia while moving back and forth between documentary and fiction. On view in this exhibition, the work “Castle, Valley, Anonymous Island and Their Return to the Moon” focuses on the story of Jim Thompson (1906 -?) who mysteriously disappeared in the Malaysian highlands. The mysterious and obscure story, interweaving Au’s imagination with the many accounts surrounding Jim’s disappearance, seems to be creating a new historical truth by combining, as the video keeps rolling, scattered pieces of a puzzle, still leaving behind a veil of mystery.
*Jim Thompson was an American businessman famous for his contribution to Thai silk industry.

Born in Chiang Rai, in upper northern Thailand, Busui Ajaw (1986) creates paintings intimately connected to her background. Ajaw gained her artistic practice from her upbringing, born into an artisan family belonging to the Akha people, a semi-nomadic ethnic minority who lives across the border from the high mountains of southeast Asia. Part of her expressive language comes from the oral literature. Such literature, which was the way of the Akha people to hand down practices, traditions, history and culture, is being lost following the sudden and profound changes the spread of technology in recent years has brought about on their way of life. Ajaw pieces together these fragments and transfers them on the canvas together with fragments from her personal experience of the world today.

Born in Taiwan, Chang Li-Ren (1983) creates original stories based on historical facts mainly in the form of installations, animation and video works. Borrowing the concept of “simulacre” (simulation) as elaborated by French philosopher Baudrillard (1929 – 2007), the artist is sending us a wake-up call as such simulation, a constant presence in our lives, can end up entirely destroying the line between reality and imagination, in a time that makes it possible to create ever real images, far more realistic than the reality obtained through the use of computers, television and other digital technologies. “Battle City” is an animation video-work that addresses a variety of issues of our times such as economy, religion, world powers, media and societal texture. All the models appearing in the video have been hand-made by the artist himself, taking him a total of seven years to complete the first installment of “Battle City” on view in this exhibition, and he is currently working on the second episode. The very realization process of this work represents Chang’s ultimate goal and can be definitely understood as the artist’s life-work.

Kindly supported by : Chi-Wen Gallery