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It is a Gold 這是一塊金子
Artist collections and Documentary ( 19'23" ) / 現成物、 行為紀錄影像 ( 19分23秒 ) Size Variable / 視場地尺寸而定 2013 >>video ( Installation view of 第四纪—交替与新生 in China Central Academy of Fine Arts, Beijing, 2013 ) ‘This is A Gold‘ is a video installation piece in the Beijing Project. At first, I wanted to ask, what does “us” mean? Or more precisely, how do we decipher the difference between “the self” and “the other”? Caring less about the disparities between nationalities and cultures, I am more interested in the ways in which fundamental values of “humanity” could be examined. This was how street experiments involving passersby’s participation came about. A mode of street fraud, Jing Guang Dang (The Golden Array Gang), widespread in Taiwan in the 1970’s was utilized as the original sample for this experiment. The Gang members, back in the days, would use fake golden nuggets filled with lead as props for pulling out their scams. Lead, the “fake gold”, thus became an element of double entendre: harmful for the human body, yet absorbed easily by tricking our immune system. The smog in Beijing contains a high level of lead. What is intriguing about this toxic haze is that it comes from not only industrial production, but also from the pollution of “remembrance.” Burning “paper money” is the traditional act of remembering and showing gratitude towards the dead in China. The Han Yi Festival includes a ceremony of burning paper money on the street to honor the ancestors. A circle is drawn on the earthen pavement with a stick. Inside the circle, paper money and clothing for the dead burn. The peculiar scene with multiple bonfires on the street leaves the air smoky with sharp smells of mingled combustion: this is a folk tradition that cannot be banned. The remnants of dust and ash become barriers for the living and the dead, while the act of giving and le;tting go furthermore marks the difference between the self and the other. I attempt to define the self/other relationship beyond the frames of materiality, social engagements, and religions. Forms and recognitions incomprehensible by words and languages can then be captured through art.
作品《這是ㄧ個金子》是北京計畫之紀錄影像裝置。最初,我想提問何謂我們?或更準確地說自我與他者該如何區辨?屏除民族或文化的差異,更關乎如何引出對”人性”的驗證,逐構思交換之實驗邀請行人參與,以盛行於七十年代的台灣街頭騙案作為計畫原型,所謂金光黨1之操作方式,將灌鉛假金元寶作為交換之“行騙”道具,而假金原料的鉛元素亦是雙關語,鉛對人體有害,但卻可以騙過免疫系統被吸收,北京毒霧霾就是重金屬鉛含量超標所致,有趣的是霧霾之成因不一定來自工業污染。民間傳統燒紙錢是中國人表達對祖先的懷念與感恩,“寒衣節”2是當街燃燒紙錢“祭祖”的儀式,居民在泥地上以樹枝畫了個圈,將紙錢冥衣放置圈中焚燒,路邊多處燃起的火苗奇異場景,讓空氣中四處瀰漫著燒焦的刺鼻氣味,卻又無法禁止,那些留下來的無數灰燼殘跡,則界分了生者與亡者之空間,施與捨之行動,更是自我與他者之區別,而我則嘗試在物質、社交與信仰之外給出待定的人我關係,藉藝術捕捉言語無法描述之情狀與意會。 註1 台灣金光黨是一種詐騙行為,最有名的手法稱為:「有錢的瘋子」或「有錢的傻子」。簡單來說就是一人裝瘋賣傻,另外一個人則告知這個傻子 (或瘋子、智障)手上的袋子裝有大把大把的鈔票。只要見有被害者拿著巨額現金,願意與這名瘋子「同車」,瘋子就會提議玩「交換遊戲」。被害者誤以為拿到瘋子手上「更多的鈔票」,但他 (她)的錢實際上就被金光黨交換;換來的可能是一疊不值錢的白紙、茶葉或報紙等體積較大,有重量的不值錢物品而空歡喜一場。 註2 農曆十月初一“寒衣節”的祭祖儀式,在民間被稱為“寒衣節”和“十月朝”是冬天的第一天。寒衣節主要是表達對祖先的懷念和感恩,“燒紙錢”的習俗是深層的精神文化需求,是中國人表達感恩的重要方式。 |
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