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Creating her own Wonderland

By Chang Ju-ping
STAFF REPORTER
Thursday, Aug 17, 2000, Page 11

Balloons and bold colors are the primary themes for people who drop through the rabbit hole. PHOTO: COURTESY OF JUN LAI

Few who know the work of artist Jun Lai would guess that she is the conjurer behind the fantasy world that awaits visitors to the fifth floor of the Asiaworld Shopping Mall.

Although she is an artist with a reputation for minimalist approaches, Lai has offered up the richly decorated Wonderland of Lewis Carroll. And everybody is invited to be Alice.

Like a page of a fairy tale projected into three dimensions, Lai has populated her world with bright solid colors, lush balloon-based landscapes and creatures of all sorts, from pink birds to the resident of the rabbit hole. It is a strange place full of the naivete of childhood fantasy, where adults can wander idly, and act like kids, where children can explore, and get lost in the thrill of make-believe.

And that is what Lai wants people to remember about their lives. That strangeness can be good, that fantasy can be real, that realities may be based on fantasies and myths.

A divorced woman who has been on her own for a long time, Lai has in recent years devoted herself to issues that tap into society and the individual, women and the exploration of their inner selves. She has been a voice of encouragement for living beyond traditional values.

Artist Jun Lai. PHOTO: COURTESY OF JUN LAI

"I am breaking a myth, a frequently simplified one that all girls just want a happy life. The world is a lot more complicated," Lai says, explaining part of the reason for creating Wonderland.

The fairy tale character Alice is a symbol for modern women stepping into the 21st century, Lai says. After experiencing the confusion and the conflicts in their societal role during the 20th century, women of today have to look deeper into themselves and extract meanings from their fantasies that will help them shape a better life in the new century.

Artist June Lai created the space as a place for people to relax and mull over there own fantasies. PHOTO: COURTESY OF JUN LAI

In many ways, Lai has done this with her own life, and she has also spurred others into cathartic experiences through her art. The decision to do Wonderland came about through one such encounter with a woman who lost her daughter in a car accident earlier this year. Her English name was Alice.

"Her daughter told her she would contact her again. She kept waiting in vain until one day she went to my Heart series exhibition," says Lai. That show was based on the Buddhist Sutra Heart of Prajna, of which Lai made five in different colors, serene and simplified, for people seeking peace.

"Mrs Yang came up to me later and said the statues of the Buddha were talking to her, as if her daughter had come back to live again," says Lai. It turned out that Yang was the administrator of the Asiaworld Alternative Space, a venue for creative people to show off their talents. Lai was invited to put on a show.

"It's like I am bringing back Alice from the fantasy world I have created, a forest where Alice had played around and gone through adventures," says Lai, who has since then been treated like Alice, the daughter that Yang lost. "I earned a mother from this show," says Lai.

But Lai also notes that she is looking for other Alices "for those who dare to venture into the unknown, to seek asylum away from the confusion, desire and anxiety that human nature has inevitably brought about."

And that is why, for the installation show, Lai held a costume contest and asked people to dress up as the Alice in their imagination. "It was fascinating how people expressed themselves so daringly and so well," says Lai, showing off the photos from the event and telling the stories behind the characters.

"There is this 30 something woman who dressed herself up like one of the Spice Girls. I met her at the elevator. She was wearing this shining silver, sleeveless dress and she told me she insisted on being the party queen."

The winners, however, were a family of four. The mother wore a sunflower around her face because she liked the optimism implied by the flower. The grandfather dressed as a choo-choo train bound for Wonderland. The little boy became the birthday cake he coveted and the girl also came as a flower, with a photo of President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) pinned to her chest.

It was a sight that gratified Lai, as she watched people lose the trappings of their regular lives and immerse themselves in the fantasy of her creation. "Taipei citizens are a lot more fun loving, assertive and creative than they used to be," she says.

Most worthy of applause in the case of Lai is her ability to candidly reflect her inner world. It's a world that many people can identify with as nearly everyone has a fantasy world tucked deep inside.

"Bring your lunch box or just come for a nap," says Lai, who seemed quite at ease now after the catharsis of Wonderland. "It's time to have a break."
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