text by Andy Fairgrieve
Deep in the glens of Scotland, locked away behind heavy doors there are secrets. No longer illicit, but still shrouded in mystery, an age old art is practiced. Strange looking contraptions, constructed of copper and brass, powered by steam, operate deep into the night. At regular intervals solitary figures appear from the shadows to manipulate wheels and taps allowing the precious contents to flow out. Lightly perfumed and silky smooth the disgorged liquid is directed through a maze of pipes before it eventually emerges only to be encased in stout wooden casks and hidden away once again, perhaps for many years, until it is finally ready. Only then can the private become public.
In to the midst of this constant but often hidden activity came Jun-jieh Wang. He brought with him a clear agenda, not to expose the secrets of the location but to weave them in to his planned re-interpretation of Duchamp's final work 'Etant donnés'
There are many parallels to be found between this work and The Glenfiddich Distillery. Both have the backdrop of a natural rural landscape, fresh flowing water and the passage of time are as essential in the creation of Glenfiddich single malt whisky as they were to Duchamp's work. But rather than having the luxury of the twenty years Duchamp devoted to his work, Wang only had three short months.
Wang's first undertaking was a photographic study of the myriad of padlocked warehouse doors across the site. Through this survey Wang cemented the central link between his project and Duchamp's work as well as introducing an element of desire. For behind each door lies the sensuous Glenfiddich malt whisky, caressed in aged oak casks, slowly maturing in the shadows, gathering and developing its character.
To my mind there is something uncomfortable about the imagery of Duchamp's original work, the prone woman in his tableau seems lifeless, more an anonymous cadaver than a living breathing person. The coldness of this image seemed at odds with Wang's personality but indeed it is his warmth and humanity that comes across most strongly in the finished presentation.
A long opening shot of one of the Glenfiddich warehouse doors gives way to a flowing river. Silhouettes of the distinctive pagoda roofs are framed in the evening sky, its growing redness is reflected in the gentle ripples of water. These graceful natural images are juxtaposed against establishing shots of some of the machinery within the distillery before moving to the closing sequences. Shot in one evening session three partially clothed lovers lie entwined, gently caressing and touching each other. Suggestive of a post coitus tryst, the viewer is forced to adopt the role of voyeur, looking in on this most private of moments. The life affirming nature of this imagery could not be further removed from the harshness of Duchamp's original. Yet in the final frames Wang twists in a dramatic and striking image. This implied, impending act of violence is at odds with the gentle sensuous atmosphere of the previous scene. The viewer can identify the assassin by their scarlet fingernails, but who is the victim?
If in Duchamp's work the body is indeed a corpse, is Wang's work the prequel?
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