Chiayi railway warehouse stages art festival

2015/11/18

The 2015 Black Golden Section Art Festival kicked off Nov. 14 at the Art Site of Chiayi Railway Warehouse in southern Taiwan, showcasing artists’ life experiences and reflections on their relationships with the world.

Organized by the Chiayi City Government’s Cultural Affairs Bureau, the eclectic event features an exhibition comprising installations, ink paintings, photographs, prints, sketches and video recordings by five talents from the Chiayi area and nine artists from other parts of Taiwan and abroad.

“Themed Inside Out this year, the 14th edition of the display centers on the importance of self-exploration,” said Chen Yi-fan, who curated the event and doubles as an art professor at National Changhua University of Education. “Representing reflections of the artists’ inner selves, the pieces may also spur visitors to embark on their own journeys of self-exploration.”

One exhibition highlight is a six-print series, with each work composed of 20 smaller pieces, by local artist Hou Chun-ming. The artist created images that reimagine his outward appearance as a reflection of his inner self in the years 1985, 1990, 1993, 1999, 2002 and 2005.

Through his self-portraits and the descriptive words placed at the bottom of the images, Hou’s pieces reveal how he was affected by external forces such as gambling, his first contact with folk religions, the healing power derived from drawing mandalas after divorce, and his remarriage and the birth of his son.

Another eye-catching artwork is a set of installations by Darryl Bisson of the U.S. The artist employed soap and grass ropes, respectively, to create shoes and a coat weighed down by stones. Well-known for his infusions of Western aesthetics and attributes of Zen philosophy, Bisson created his own interpretation of the natural cycles of growth and decay. The shoes are designed to melt away in rain, while the coat illustrates the impossible task of bearing burdens as one reaches old age.

Equally impressive is a series of photographs titled “Words Fail Me” by Nao Uda from Japan. Named after a phrase used by her grandfather in a letter to his best friend in Canada, the pictures are a tribute to the past of her late grandfather. Uda shot photos and collected stories of Japanese-Canadians as she traveled from Vancouver to Toronto. During the journey, she found her grandfather’s friend George.

Running through Jan. 3 next year, the event also offers such activities as concerts, dances, lectures, workshops and a children’s sketch competition.

Source: Taiwan Today (http://taiwantoday.tw/ct.asp?xItem=239020&ctNode=2194&mp=9)