Technological innovations have lent new possibilities to artistic creation as well as to everyday life. For some people, that doesn't necessarily mean progress. In the current exhibition in Shin Leh Yuan Art Space (新樂園藝術空間), installation artist Chen Chun-ming (陳俊明) has brought forward the sense of uncertainty or even loss caused by the modern lifestyle.
Floating (穿流), the title of the show, refers to what Chen sees as people's continual search for exits, or for a way to progress. "In this time and age, people go in some direction thinking of it as progress, find it wrong and get back on track and then try some other way that's equally wrong. ? Faced with the inevitable advance of time and their helplessness, people have to constantly renew themselves in different ways. It's a kind of floating in space and time," he told the Taipei Times.
To continue the theme of In-between, Chen's previous project on show last year in Huashan Arts District, Floating deals with the uncertainty of modern life. It's tempting to think of this in political or economic terms in the context of Taiwanese society, but Chen approaches the concept from an interpersonal perspective.
In In-between, Chen built an oversized see-saw for viewers to sit on. Its continuous up-and-down movement once people get on its two sides offers a simple and yet piquant observation of human interaction.
Floating once again employs a playground facility -- a swing. At one end of the gallery, images of moving water are projected onto diagonally opposing walls while a swing is hung in between. Once viewers seat themselves on the swing, they see waves on one side and then the other; now in front of them and behind them the next second. Wherever they are, these are the same images of water -- implying that whatever choice we make, we end up in the same middle of nowhere.
"In my works, I'm inspired by the sense of uncertainty resulting from constantly drifting between various ideas," Chen said.
Another installation is a video projection which shows a rear-view mirror on a car driving on a mountain road. The image is interrupted by the images of flowing city lights. The interruption becomes more and more frequent as the images of the driving car blur. Near the end, viewers can only make out the sound that indicates the car is taking a turn. The hazy images give no clue as to where it's heading.
"Modernism had reached its limits in the 1980s. After that, new technologies have been created continually but conceptual breakthroughs have been lacking. In a sense, the world is not moving forward, but taking turns in unknown directions," Chen said.
What: Floating -- Chen Chun-ming installation exhibition
Where: Shin Le Yuan Art Space
When: Through Sept. 15
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