Curatorial Essay
Dwelling Place?
Due to the current catastrophe with the second mortgage loans in the United States, the world is going through a great deal of economic instability. The economic crisis is merely just a tip of the iceberg, and many issues with the climate, religion, race, food, social clash, diaspora, and war are tribulations that are still on the raise. The crisis at hand is only bring out to the open what has been hidden for a prolonged state, and is making apparent the complex issues that are forming or have already occurred. The public feels with intensity that the hard times have kicked in, and regardless of it being spiritual or physical, this all encompassing multi-crisis is causing a sense of unstableness in the public. With the feelings of anxiety, when will be the next breaking point? Will people be loosing all of their possessions overnight? The helplessness and the state of emptiness are engulfing everyone like a wave of thick fog; therefore, how to deal with these difficult situations will determine our lives and living standards in the immediate future to come.
The purpose to present “Dwelling Place? 2008 Taiwan International Video Art Exhibition” as Hong-Gah Museum’s first international video art exhibition is an attempt to react to the complex situations occurring in the world right now. To use the concept of the “Home” as a starting point and through international call of entries and invited artists to exhibit works that use the most fundamental unit in life, the “Home”, and be it physical presentations or originating from spiritual aspects, the works make an effort to reconsider the modern day people’s reality and existence. Furthermore, through the works of these internationally acclaimed artists, a dialogue between the body, mind and soul can be kindled, and find a direction in the midst of a chaotic time and keep striving forth.
Twelve invited artists are presenting their observations about modern people’s dwelling places, and they have responded to various issues with sensitivity and profoundness. Some of the issues the artworks have dealt with are nostalgic memories, spiritual belonging, relationship with the land, identity acceptance, post-colonial issues, societal caste system, natural and man-caused disasters. In addition, in the three-month call for entries process, 121 works from 21 countries have been received, and through the selection process with international and domestic professional jurors, 20 works have been selected to be included in the exhibition. Amidst the selections, the topics presented about dwelling places are extensive, ranging from concerns for the lower-caste and minorities in the society, humorous fantasies about the city, the urban dwellings under consumerism, cultural differences, terrorism, labor diasporas, etc… Through these artworks, the intended purpose is to raise more diverse thoughts and deeper understandings toward the current state of the world.
策展論述
居無定所？
近日全球局勢因為美國二房風暴所衍生出的金融危機而動盪不安，而一波波的經濟災難不過都只是世界現況的冰山一角，氣候、宗教、種族、糧食、社會矛盾、移民、戰爭等的問題卻沒有因此減緩。此時風暴不過是將全球潛藏已久，或逐漸浮現，或已經發生的複雜問題更鮮明的突顯出來，人們都強烈感受到苦日子已經開始。不管是心靈上的，或是生理上的，這樣全面性的多重危機也讓人深刻體會到一種不確定性，人心浮動不安，焦慮感不停的產生，下一個爆點會在何處？大家的身家財產是否會瞬間消失，居無定所的蒼涼虛無感受，正如濃霧般的向所有人襲來，而如何對應這些難以掌握的世局，則決定了我們接下來的生活與生命狀態。
以『居無定所？―2008台灣國際錄像藝術展』作為鳳甲美術館首次舉辦的國際錄像藝術展的主題，其目的就是希望能回應當前全球動盪的複雜局勢，以「居所」的概念作為出發點，經由國際邀展與徵件的方式，將生活中最根本的單位---「居所」，可能是物質性的，也可能是一種心靈的原鄉，以歸零或回到原初，重新思考當代人類面臨的現實狀態與生命存在的本質，並期待從這些曾參加過無數國際重要大展的國內外藝術家的創作之中，進一步與自我的身心靈對話，在混沌的時局之中，找出方向繼續前進。
12位邀展藝術家提出了當代人類『居無定所？』的觀察，對於記憶鄉愁、心靈歸屬、人土關係、身分認同、後殖民議題、社會底層生活、天災人禍等議題，都有著敏銳深刻的對應。此外，在三個月的徵件過程中，更有來自全球各大洲21個國家共121件的作品投件，在經過國內外專家評審後，共選出20件作品作為徵選展出作品，而其中藝術家們所觸及到關於居所的議題更是廣泛，舉凡對於社會底層與弱勢族群的關懷、城市角落的幽默奇想、消費主義下的居所樣貌、文化差異、恐怖主義、移民勞工問題等等，相信可以激發觀者更多方的思考與對世界現況的理解。
