And Lai Chih-sheng’s (賴志盛) upside-down video footage of a car driving through Taipei in The Reverse Reality — (Episode II)(天空裡的現實II) might offer an alternate perspective on day-to-day existence, but it required a discussion with the curator to understand how. The video is of the route the artist takes on a daily basis from his studio to the university he works at, the curator explained. Inverting this routine shows how perceptions change as one’s perspective changes.
Lee Ji-hong’s (李基宏) 15-minute video 20081029 Square (20081029廣場) explores the concept of time. He spent 24 hours walking around the square in front of Taipei’s Grand Formosa Hotel as pictures were taken of him every six seconds. Lee said the video is meant to illustrate the repetitious nature of the daily grind. This is an idea many people can relate to, and some viewers will not doubt understand it intuitively. Others will likely watch a few seconds of the video, become bored and walk away scratching their heads.
“Some ordinary people do not have the art education to look at a piece and transfer it into their normal life,” Lee said when asked about the video’s meaning.
Perhaps. But it seems that most “ordinary people” do have this ability when the piece is accompanied with a brief introduction or explanation written in plain language. Although some of the installations in Looking Up! are self-explanatory, many will leave the viewer feeling more apathetic than enlightened.
Exhibition notes:
What: Looking Up! Looking Down! (抬頭一看，生活裡沒有任何美好的事)
Where: Eslite Xinyi Bookstore (誠品信義店), 5F, 11 Songgao Rd, Taipei City (台北市松高路11號5樓)
When: Until Aug. 2. Open Tuesdays to Sundays from 11am to 7pm
Telephone: (02) 8789-3388 X1588
Admission: Free
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