文 / Lee Wei-Jing
Bring your ear down closer. Put your hand over the other ear. Think of seashells. There. Now you can hear me.
It must be a surprise for you, the discovery that there's a voice inside this bottle. You thought you were buying a curio, which is what most people would call a round-bodied glass object, ornate, dusty, out of date, filled with layers of coloured sand, purple-pink-orange-green-beige. A sort of ornament. A sort of souvenir, from a place you haven't in fact ever visited.
Then you saw the sand moving, in a bottle with the cork in. At first you thought it might be an earthquake, a small one, the kind that rattles teacups. But no. you watched closely. You were not mistaken: yes, there was a rippling, a shivering, a wavelet of purple sand. Some sort of insect life, perhaps. You took out the cork.
That was when you heard the voice. My voice, to be precise.
It was a small sibilant voice, like the rustling of old corn husks in a breeze, or of dried leaves kept for eons in a cave. It was a hissing, like steam escaping fitfully from a fissure in damp mud. An underground sound, hinting of unknown pressures, of unknown powers. It was an enticing whisper.[1]
“The Double Flame” solo exhibition represents the hushed tones of Chen Hui-chiao and it is through this whisper and the works on display there that the artist seeks to ensure her voice, experiences and emotions are heard. Naturally Chen is also an attentive listener to all things ancient.
Whenever this type of emotion is expressed one has to get as close to the bottle as possible to hear what is being said.
In the past Chen's artistic style very much focused on sharp contrasts – the juxtaposition of contradictory elements - explosive and weak emotions makes for a powerful stylistic ouvre. In contrast, this solo exhibition seems to mark a complete departure from the past or at the very least shows us the artist branching off in a tangential direction. For example, warmer and more tolerant feelings replace the artist's more common tools of conflict and incisiveness. I am not sure what has changed in Chen Hui-chiao's life but the human emotion and attitude conveyed through her work are clearly very different.
As an art critic I generally view the work of artists from a formalistic perspective. Beginning in the 1980's Chen's search for her own distinctive style was deeply influenced by the work of other artists such as Richard Lin (Lin Shou-yu), Tsong Pu and minimalism. It was obvious even in the early years how hard she worked when using materials, but her precision and search for perfection in form was much more surprising. However, any close inspection of the special nature of Chen Hui-chiao's works indicates that their appeal lies somewhere other than form and methodology. Stainless steel, needles, roses, cotton and other semiotic symbols or objects appear repeatedly in Chen's work. The use of such semiotics is not uncommon in the works of feminists just as the utilization of powerful contrasting elements is relatively commonplace in art. What is altogether more noticeable is the way in which Chen Hui-chiao uses these symbols to evolve her own distinctive language, an easily identifiable personal style that uses form to connect with her own powerful emotions.
The artist's frequent use of juxtaposition has evolved through different combinations over a period of nearly 20 years. In this context, emotions of joy or hurt, suppressed feelings and worries are related to yearning for dreams. Chen also incorporates her considerable research into mysticism, astrology and astronomy into her creative work. As a result, underneath what appear to be symbols and allusions frequently used in feminism we find a certain tension and cruelty.
On the whole Chen Hui-chiao does everything she can to make her dreams as big as possible whilst simultaneously denying the possibility of dreams and declaring there to be no hope. Time and time again, she has blended extreme desire with denial at the possibility of its realization. On occasions it is even possible to discern rage and violence.
In addition, the logic and process that underpin Chen's use of astrological symbols, her focus on dream fragments and the development of those into artistic works are inevitably interpreted as expressing a romantic female point of view, infused with the unconscious exploration of psychoanalysis. Although such critique and interpretations are not entirely bereft of reason, I believe the fundamental point has to be the basic change in the artist's attitude. Whist it to note that Chen Hui-chiao's starting point and was very much the total opposite of romanticism. Indeed, she was driven by sober rationalism.
The artist has focused on mysticism and astrology and maintained a fascination with dreams, psychology and instinct for many years. In addition, her research into these areas has provided much sustenance for her evolving art and perhaps even more importantly a prism through which she understands both interpersonal relations and the world in general Chen's understanding of and involvement with mysticism is not merely some psychic type response to dreams and mysteries or even the forces of darkness (on the basis of a certain differentiated “rationality” modern people view it as superstition, indeed most still believe astrology to be something akin to spiritual prediction, fortune telling or magic). For Chen Hui-chiao, her motivation and starting point is something similar to that of early researchers into the fields of natural philosophy and science in fourteenth century Europe. At that time philosophy and natural science were closely interlinked and many astronomers were also alchemists.
The motivation behind the involvement of early scientists with mathematics, physics, astronomy, astrology and alchemy was wisdom and scientific progress. Today astrology is regarded in the same light as alchemy as a kind of mystical magic, but in the past it represented the asynchronous development of science and beauty. Historian Richard J. Evans has suggested that the study of mystery indicates an attempt to transcend the superficial experiences of the world and to get to the truth behind them. As such, it often involves the extensive use of artistic symbols and semiotics and in the past this was an important method to understand nature, a way in which natural philosophers researched the forces around them.
The interlinking of philosophy, science and aesthetics, highlights the human attempt to grasp the natural laws and power that lie behind the superficial and even more implores us to try and control it them.
This is also the attitude adopted by Chen Hui-chiao. It is most clearly expressed through the high degree of control and even formalization she exerts over the soaring emotions from each dreamscape and fantasy as the characteristics of incisiveness take shape as discussed above. In fact, this is also shown in the way Chen takes objects and emotions from life and connects them. She does not view things in real life as rational, preferring instead to analyze the irrational probabilities and allusions that lie behind them. The changes in semiotics and visual images throughout this entire process showcase both the defining characteristics and methodology employed in the art of Chen Hui-chiao.
The question is whether adventurism that involves the use of mysticism, astrology and dreams to transcend the superficialities of the world as part of a broader attempt to explore the logic of the universe is successful? At the very least, Chen's works address these life ambitions and express a great respect for universal nature, which is easier to respect than those artists who concentrate on nothing but dreams. Attempts to go beyond the veil of thing and to connect with the Universe have throughout the development of human civilization attracted countless brilliant philosophies and the efforts of science, indeed it is a vast and bottomless, bloody record. Against this backdrop it is difficult to discern whether Chen Hui-chiao bravely pushes on in innocence or stubbornness, but it will clearly have to endure setbacks and limitations.
However, it is exactly those questions that cannot be understood that lie behind the more intriguing elements, setbacks, rage and confusion in the artistic explorations of Chen Hui-chiao. They also lend themselves to the application of incisiveness and contrasts, methods with which the artist is particularly familiar and adept at using.
What I think is worth pondering is “the isolation of people” behind the incisiveness, the raised voice and arbitrariness of the artist, a declaration there is no conclusion, the right to deny and doubt. Chen takes her own knowledge of life and emotions and attempts to interpret the setbacks caused by this broken system of reason, stubbornly displaying that even nothingness can be strong, so viewers can comprehend and be moved but not interfere.
Whether in terms of attitude, meaning or language, Chen Hui-chiao's “Here and Now” solo exhibition held at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Taipei, in 2006, marked the culmination of 20 years of work. However, certain differences were already there to see and there have been clues to her changing attitude. Even though these were still largely hidden at the time and perhaps even Chen herself was not entirely aware of the change, she certainly took on a very different disposition.
In other words, the “agnostic” denial and doubts that came after anger and passion was blocked resulted from a desire to understand but inability to grasp everything. It is now surprisingly transformed into an acceptance of the unknowable and acceptance. It even becomes a certain identification with and praise for the subjects that have caused Chen setbacks in her research. “The Double Flame” solo exhibition extends in a new direction and adopts a new attitude – even though we do not yet know if this is a completely new track or a temporary diversion. It is almost as if the artist is saying even though we are unable to understand the possible meanings behind the stars, all we ultimately need to do is ask whether the beautiful brilliance of starlight is not itself an example of the love and benevolence of God?
This is the biggest change. It represents a fundamental or core transformation.
Any analysis of methodology in “The Double Flame” shows how Chen Hui-chiao extends much of her earlier language, including, needles and thread, embroidery, flowers and table tennis balls, though in this instance these playful elements are arranged, reassembled and used differently. Warm cotton flannel and the stories and thoughts woven into it with fine densely packed colored thread present colorful layer after layer of comment, with freely arranged embroidered symbols resembling those on ancient western flags, like the ones one sees when traveling. These brim with a color and boldness rarely seen in the artist's earlier work. Chen relates story after story like ancient images picked from astrology and dreams. This is also a product of countless journeys on the Danshui MRT, traveling to places around the world, rising and falling in the art world. It follows failure in constantly searching for the meaning of life, the desolation and relaxation that comes after self doubt and finally she has returned to life and been moved by a sudden recognition of the little understanding she possesses. No longer is it the “Smiles of the Skeptic”,[2] but rather the smile of a song.
I do not know what happened in Chen Hui-chiao's life and am unable to discern with any certainty whether this change is pure coincidence or part of an inevitable transformation. However, this fundamental change in attitude certainly imbues “The Double Flame” with special significance for her creative career.
Through this tolerance and empathy and the greater degree of relaxation and acceptance, the relationship between the artist and her audience also changes. Visitors are now invited to share in the whispers of the artist and her life experiences, something that is if anything a tale of hope. I would say that this represents a huge difference in the meaning of the artist’s work on this occasion. It may also be the greatest possible transformation for Chen Hui-chiao as an artist reflecting on the world, looking for meaning as an artist or repeatedly considering the essential nature of life. After her fixation with love and search for answers there is now tolerance, tenderness and humbleness as she leaves obsession behind, and this leads inexorably to the participation of visitors and even transformation.
Those who are both alchemists and people of a rational disposition dedicating their whole lives to such pursuits need to accurately record and carefully research how the universe functions behind the stars. Unfortunately such people are always obstructed by their own limitations and unable to accept the truth. One day they wake up and what they see is brilliant starlight and the beauty of dark velvet night. Suddenly, all the incisive research in the past and the capricious cruelty of life give way to smiles of acceptance.
I think that Chen Hui-chiao believes the soul resides in heaven the body on earth. It is my guess that this exhibition is evidence that she has now spiritual enlightenment and joy on Earth.
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[1] Margaret Atwood,“The Tent”2006 by Anchor Books, a division of Random House, Inc. New York.
[2]“Smiles of the Skeptic”is the title of one of Chen Hui-chiao's solo exhibitions held in 1997 at IT Park Gallery, Taipei. |
