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Going Home 魂歸故里
Two channels video, Object, Flowers, Pottery, Digital imaging output 雙頻道錄像、現成物、鮮花、陶器、數位影像輸出 Size Variable / 視場地尺寸而定 2020 >>video ( Installation view of Taoyuan International Art Award Exhibition, Taoyuan, 2021 ) The work Going Home attempts to re-examine the political figures in the history of autonomy, especially the early Tainan County Council. Having gone through the Japanese colonization, Taiwanese elites actively devoted themselves to the participation of local elections after World War II. Before becoming the first chair of the Tainan County Council, Chen Huazong had been the head of Xuejia region in Showa 10 (1935), when the entire Office of the Taiwan Governor-General was mobilized to hold the Taiwan Exposition to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Japan’s governance of Taiwan, promoting local urban planning and land division. Xuejia thus became one of the few townships where urban planning was completed before the war.In 1947, the February 28 incident broke out. Chen Huazong, Senator Wu Xinrong and others were arrested, being accused of civil disturbance. Originally sentenced to death, they were then acquitted of the charge. After being released from prison, Chen Huazong actively participated in Taiwan’s politics. He has served as the county commissioner for four terms consecutively and became the leader of the "Beimen Group", the latter being the precursor of the "Sea Group." In November 1968, Chen Huazong as senator of the Taiwan Province was killed in a car accident near the Presidential Office Building on his way to the provincial council guest house in Taipei, with his car being crashed by a truck. He passed away after being sent to a hospital. The sudden accident led to the longtime local rumour that his death was related to his advocacy in the county council to establish an international port in the North Gate. The Going Home takes Chen Huazong as the prototype of the story. It begins with a young man revisiting Chen’s former residence: an eclectic-style building hidden in a deserted place infested with weed that has been ruined for a long time, before taking to the statue of Chen Huazong in the storage room of the council building. Through his story, I attempt to show the many intertwined networks of reality and fusion behind a historic site.The part of work, digs into the building of the Tainan City Council, discussing how the ideology of the country's rulers can be spread or enhanced by symbols in space. Completed in 1980, the council building has an Eight Trigrams-shaped roof whose corners and ridge were ornamented with statues of immortals riding beasts appropriated from ancient Chinese architecture. This kind of architectural elements resembling the style of the northern palaces appeared abundantly in the official architectural design of the 1970s, incarnating how art was employed as an instrument for political propaganda. After the county council was moved into the building, the Eight Trigrams with the function of exorcism and golden glazed tiles as symbols of emperor failed to bring better feng shui. Many councillors died of disease or accidents, arousing clamorous rumours. The county people rumoured that the Chinese-style official building had the negative effect of worsening the feng shui, leading to the final decision of the council to remove the roof crown to appease the voices from all parties. Although this incident happened after Chen Huazong had died of the car accident for more than a decade, all sorts of rumours around local politics implying coincidences and conspiracies remained to be exorcised. I took a photo of the completion of the council building as a reference and remade the pottery roof crown that had been left behind for decades. Finally, the original function and beauty of the object as a container got restored. But how can life be separated from frames of politics and ideology? I still doubt. 作品《魂歸故里》嘗試重探自治史上的政治人物,特別是早期的臺南縣議會,經歷日殖時期的臺灣菁英,在二戰之後紛紛投身參與地方選舉,陳華宗在成為第一屆臺南縣議會議長之前,昭和十年(1935年)當總督府全體動員慶祝臺灣始政四十年,也就是同一年,陳華宗即擔任學甲庄長,推行學甲都市計劃與土地區劃整理工作,學甲也成為戰前少數完成都市計畫的鄉鎮。1947年二二八事件爆發,陳華宗與參議員吳新榮等人,被指為內亂罪,遭受逮捕,原已判處死刑,而後又無罪釋放。出獄後的陳華宗積極參與臺灣政治,前後擔任四屆縣議長,成為「北門派」領袖,而北門派也成為後來「海派」的開端。1968年11月時任臺灣省議員的陳華宗於臺北前往省議會招待所途中,其座車與貨車在總統府附近相撞,送醫後不治死亡,突如其來的意外,導致多年來地方仍舊傳聞他的身亡,皆與當年在省議會爭取國際港設在北門有關。 《魂歸故里》以陳華宗為故事原型,起始由一青年回訪陳華宗的故居:一座隱身於荒煙蔓草中,早已傾頹的折衷主義式樣建築,一路接續至議會大樓儲藏間內的陳華宗雕像,藉由他的故事,我想呈顯的是歷史場域背後,諸多真實與虛構的交織網絡。作品的一部份則切入臺南縣議事大樓的建築,討論國家執政者的意識形態,如何藉由空間中的符號來傳播或強化。1980年落成的議會大樓,外觀為八卦形屋頂,檐角屋脊設有中國古建築的仙人騎獸雕像,這一類仿製北方宮殿式樣的建築元素,大量出現在70年代的官方建築設計之中,具體展現了藝術作為政治宣傳的工具,當縣議會遷入大樓後,具有鎮煞功能的八卦,象徵帝王的金黃色琉璃瓦,卻未能帶來更好的風水,多位議員病故與意外身亡,流言甚囂塵上,縣民謠傳中國官式的建築反而破壞風水,導致議會最後決定拆下屋頂的寶頂,來平息各界聲音,這個事件雖然離陳華宗車禍喪生已十多年之久,但地方政治暗藏巧合與陰謀的種種傳說,始終未曾除魅。我參照了議會大樓的落成照片,重製了那一座遺落數十年的陶製寶頂,最終,還原這個物件作為一個容器的原始功能與美感,但生活如何能抽離政治與意識型態的框架?我仍舊懷疑。 |
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