Photo courtesy of Taipei Artist Village
Photo: Sasha Chan
Exhibition Infomation from TAV site https://www.artistvillage.org/event-detail.php?p=4560
Exhibition Period｜06.25(Sat.)–07.24(Sun.) (closed on Monday)
Open Time｜11:00-18:00
Opening Reception｜06.25(Sat.)15:00 (physical & live stream)
Venue｜ Taipei Artist Village, Barry Room
Artists｜ARAKAWA Soya ÷ ABE Nyubo, CHANG Yung-Ta, HANASAKI Kaya, NAKASHIMA Kayako + LEE Te-Mao
Exhibition Consultant｜WU Dar-Kuen
Taipei Artist Village (TAV) and Tokyo Arts and Space (TOKAS) are art institutions that were both established in 2001. With shared backgrounds in the public sector and established at the beginning of the millennium, epoch-making and experimental residency institutions such as TAV and TOKAS require unprecedented vision and have been met with profound challenges. As the operations of the two institutions became increasingly on track, in 2007, TAV and TOKAS started the discussion on initiating an exchange project. Since 2008, artists have been selected to participate in the residencies in Taipei and Tokyo. The project enabled the longstanding friendship and ongoing exchange between the two cities and has become the first choice for Taiwanese and Japanese artists when seeking resident opportunities.
Several significant incidents occurred between 2008 and 2022 around the world, deepening the bond between Taiwan and Japan. Apart from the disaster relief during the March 11 Tohoku Earthquake and sending vaccines during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics has also witnessed strengthening partnerships in the sports and cultural fields of the two countries. Throughout the 15 years, 29 artists have participated in the exchange, and the heartwarming interactions have reinforced the relationship between Taiwan and Japan. The artists are like “messengers,” shouldering the responsibility of communication and moving back and forth to deliver information. Either sent from Taipei to Tokyo or vice versa, the artists have brought the support and blessings from their institutions, traveling between their natural and creative lives in the two international cities with their own experiences and understandings of art, bringing transformations, receiving the nourishment of foreign culture, and enabling valuable artistic exchange.
First, two works collaborated by Japanese artists Arakawa Soya and Abe Nyubo are presented at the entrance and hallway of TAV, which are the results of their analysis, dismantling of each other’s work and sharing ideas. Abe Nyubo’s Chroma key Sculpture at the entrance of TAV uses the green screen, which is often used in CG images to create “naked-eye special effects.” He sets up an extending human body sculpture, holding a broom downward in both hands, whose movement and posture seem to create a magical aura between Taiwan and Japan, transforming the façade of TAV into a stage. The audience who pass through the gate also seem to have crossed the virtual and real boundary, and also cross the time and space between Taiwan and Japan. In the hallway, the video work Magical Execution that Arakawa Soya produced during the residency at TAV tries to reflect the fact that the magic wand as a material, has been given memories through people’s projection and superimposition. His images project narratives outside the essence of the object, and give it a different layer of meaning. Traveling through time and space with magic brooms, two works that are full of imaginations kick off the Messenger exhibition.
Chang Yung-Ta presents a Geiger Counter installation module in the exhibition space, which detects and interprets the data of radioactive particles and cosmic rays through an algorithm and rearranges and presents Bach’s BWV 974 as a loop music piece created through machine learning. This creative method was inspired by the impact of the March 11 Tohoku Earthquake and the Fukushima Nuclear Disaster, which occurred during the artist’s residency at TOKAS, and encouraged the artist to reflect on the connection between data and creativity.
Hanasaki Kaya is a performance and multimedia artist whose focus on social, political, and cultural issues reflects her latest observations of society. Through the three video works displayed in this exhibition, the artist documents the daily issues of the residents of Treasure Hill, Toad Hill (Huan Min Village) and Shao Xing Community from the neutral perspective of an observer. The works spotlight the seemingly mundane affairs of the residents to elaborate on issues concerning housing justice amid gentrification and rapid urban changes.
Nakashima Kayako invited Taiwanese artist Lee Te-Mao to collaborate in creating Cross Letters, an experiment that explores the interactions and misinterpretations in two-way communication through repeated behavior to inspire contemplations on the nature of communication. By writing in their native language (Japanese/Chinese) and reading each other’s writings, the language barrier urges the artists to use their imaginations when attempting to overcome the obstacles of interpretation. The contents of Cross Letters seem to be saying something, but due to reading obstacles, the messages are repeatedly covered, piled up, and trapped in incomprehensible contents or misunderstandings. This work transcends languages and texts and encourages new understandings of the self and the other.
Apart from the works of the four groups, a total of six Taiwanese and Japanese artists, the curatorial team also arranged “The Letter Project,” which invites artists who have attended the exchange project between TAV and TOKAS in the past 15 years and the representatives from both institutions to portray the changes in their inner worlds through writing letters or images. Through letters, texts not only become channels for emotional connection but also represent the bond between the cities of Taipei and Tokyo, leaving behind important documentation for future exchanges. In a world of disease and war, harsh realities penetrate the most vulnerable corners of people’s heart in the form of texts and images. Despite the differences in language and life experiences, we make efforts to communicate and understand each other. All the resident artists, the “messengers,” the lingering stories, mixed with tears and laughter, keep inspiring our communications with others and opening new chapters for the residency program for both institutions.
(Text / WU Dar-Kuen)
“The Letter Project” Participating Artists and the representatives:
ABE Nyubo, ARAKAWA Soya, CHANG Yung-Ta, CHEN I-Hsuen, CHEN Yu-Wen, CHIANG Kai-Chun, CHUANG Chih-Wei, CHU Yin-Hua, HANASAKI Kaya, HASHIMOTO Jin, IWAI Masaru, KONDO Yuki, Catherintran LEE, LI Yi-Fan, LU Chih-Yun, LUO Jr-Shin, MARUYAMA Miki, NAKASHIMA Kayako, OHTA Haruka, SHIMURA Nobuhiro, WANG Lien-Cheng, WU Dar-Kuen, YAO Chung-Han (alphabetize by last name)
展期｜06.25(Sat.)–07.24(Sun.) (Closed on Monday)
開放時間｜11:00-18:00
開幕茶會｜06.25(Sat.) 15:00（線上同步直播）
地點｜台北國際藝術村，百里廳
參展藝術家｜荒川創也÷阿部乳坊、張永達、花崎草、中島伽耶子＋李德茂
展覽顧問｜吳達坤
台北國際藝術村與TOKAS（Tokyo Arts and Space）有著相似的成立背景，皆為2001年創立的藝術機構。在千禧年當年公部門背景之下，成立一個劃時代性意義的駐村實驗機構，需要具備高瞻遠見，其艱辛不可言喻。隨著機構運行日漸上軌道，自2007年雙邊開啟了實質交流的討論，自2008年起遴選本國藝術家到雙邊城市進駐，成為維繫兩城市長年情誼的重要計畫，時至今日，更成為許多臺日藝術家駐村申請時的首選志願。
從2008年到2022年這15年間，國際重大事件頻傳，因此加深彼此情誼。臺日共同經歷311東日本大地震的救災送暖，COVID-19疫情下疫苗共濟，一場東京奧運更凝聚雙邊對體育文化的支持。15年來計有29位藝術家的互訪，捎來彼此溫暖的信息，也讓臺日兩國友誼羈絆更加堅定。作為「信使」，一般認知為擔任某項使命或傳遞消息的溝通角色。如過往15年由臺北派送到東京或是由東京派送來臺的藝術家們，帶著雙邊機構的支持與祝福，以各自對藝術的體悟與認識，來到臺北與東京這兩個國際都市，藉著藝術「信息」帶來生命轉化，每一位「信使」都是在創作與生命自然之間折返。體驗著全新地域性與異文化所帶來的創作養分，展開一段無可取代的藝術交流旅程。
首先由荒川創也和阿部乳坊兩位日本藝術家以彼此分析、拆解與分享共同合作的兩件作品，在TAV的入口與川堂呈現。阿部乳坊在TAV入口的〈色彩嵌空〉以CG影像中慣用的綠幕背景製作「裸視特效」，設置擴張延伸的人物肢體伸長雙手持著掃把。動作跟姿態劃出臺/日之間的魔法結界，同時也為展覽精心設計了舞台，穿過大門的觀眾們彷彿也穿越了虛擬與真實的結界，同時也跨越台日之間的時空。川堂中，荒川創也從駐村時期進行的錄像創作〈魔法施展〉，試圖將魔杖幻化成物質，投射並疊加為材質上的記憶，影像投射出事物本質外的敘事並賦予意義上的疊加。兩件充滿時空想像、腦洞大開的作品共以魔法掃把時空穿越為「信使」展覽揭開序幕。
走進展場，張永達在空間中裝置了一個蓋格計數器裝置模組，將展場環境所偵測到的放射粒子、宇宙射線數據以演算法，將巴哈的作品〈BWV 974〉進行樂譜順序的重組編寫及演奏，形成由機器學習所產生的無限迴旋曲目。這創作過程亦是當年在TOKAS駐村時受到311強震與福島核災的衝擊的啟發，思考數據與創作的關聯。
花崎草是一位以行為藝術和多媒材為媒介創作的藝術家。對社會、政治和文化議題的關注反應她對當下社會的觀察。本次展出的三部錄像作品，她以中立者的眼光記錄著寶藏巖、蟾蜍山（煥民新村）與紹興社區居民在城市聚落中的居住日常議題，具體而微的將居民關心的平凡事件放大，投射出城市高度演變下仕紳化所帶來的居住正義議題。
由中島伽耶子邀請臺灣藝術家李德茂合作的作品〈交叉書寫〉，作為探討交流與誤讀的雙向溝通實驗，試圖以反覆行為重新思索交流的本質。因為彼此語言的閱讀障礙，當雙邊以日文/中文母語交叉書寫、閱讀之時，嘗試用想像力跨越轉譯的障礙。這些內容彷彿有話要說，卻又被一次次的語意不明的閱讀障礙給掩蓋、堆疊、卡關在無法閱讀甚至誤讀的狀態中，這件作品的實踐已超越語言與文字，重新的認識對方跟自我。
除四組六位的臺、日藝術家聯袂展出之外，策展團隊也規劃「魚雁計畫」：廣邀15年來參與TAV跟TOKAS交流計畫的藝術家與雙邊機構代表以文字書信、圖像描述駐村與合作期間的心路轉變。魚雁往返，文字不僅是情感的連結，也象徵臺北和東京的雙城羈絆，為未來持續交流留下重要的紀錄。在流行病和戰爭的世界，殘酷荒誕的現實透過視覺圖像和文字直指著每個人心最脆弱的一塊。即使我們的語言不同，生命經歷也不盡相同，但我們努力去溝通、去理解對方。由每一位藝術家「信使」的駐村交流，每一個笑中帶淚，餘韻繚繞的故事，都成為我們與他者溝通的養分，持續替TAV與TOKAS雙邊未來駐村寫下一頁頁新的篇章。
（文／吳達坤）
「魚雁計畫」參與藝術家與代表：
阿部乳坊、荒川創也、張永達、陳以軒、陳郁文、江凱群、莊志維、朱盈樺、花崎草、橋本仁、岩井優、近藤由紀、李曉雯、李亦凡、盧之筠、羅智信、丸山美紀、中島伽耶子、太田遼、志村信裕、王連晟、吳達坤、姚仲涵（依姓氏英文字母順序排列）
