I didn’t think to have a look at what was on at the Taipei Fine Arts Museum before I went to check it out for the first time. And what a nice surprise it was to step right into Mind as Passion, a video art exhibition full of wonderment, simplicity and innovation.
This collection of video installations was definitely the highlight of my three or so hours spent at TFAM and a great introduction to what this part of the world has to offer in the way of video art. Seventeen new generation creators from Taiwan and Japan were selected because their works reflect the conundrum faced by modern humanity, both in the East and the West: obsession with the individual self compared with a drive to challenge stereotypes and highlight issues which affect our society. Throughout the exhibition, themes and feelings were varied and at times intense. Nostalgia, tradition battling or blending with modernity, sadness, dreamlike moments, natural elements, progress, even scents.
Two works that stood out for me were Mami Kosemura’s Flowering Plants of the Four Seasons and Out of the Blue by Hiraka Sawa. Although quite different in style, content and presentation, when I parted with these works I took away with me satisfying feelings of peace and nostalgia. Without doing any research into the works I noticed themes of nature and domesticity, although Kosemura’s art felt more traditional than Sawa’s. I like the way the works really enveloped you with their presence, in particular the use of scent in Flowering Plants of the Four Seasons. You had to duck through a low entrance to enter the space of the piece and were hit with the smell of fresh cut grass and bamboo matting. I immediately fell in love with the bird imagery and wallpaper patterns in Sawa’s Out of the Blue.
But by far my favourite piece, captivating me for its entire run time, was Naoyuki Tsuji’s Children of Shadows. To create this dreamlike, childlike stop motion animation Tsuji draws images in charcoal and pastel, erasing them after photographing each stage. This leaves a trail of faint pencil marks behind each movement, a permanent reminder of both the process used by the artist and the past action of the story. I was absolutely engrossed with this film. It felt as though I was in a dream the whole time I was watching, like time no longer existed and all the action somehow took place in just one moment. The experience was raw, pure, innocent and fluid. A fairytale for adults.
Here are some words from the artist himself, written in 2007. I found the quote here.
“One of the main characteristics of animations created using charcoal is the afterimage. With this method it’s easy to erase or draw over or add details to a previously drawn image, but the previous image never completely disappears. My method is quite simple. I sit in front of the paper and wait for an idea. When I get an idea, I draw it down and click the shutter a few times. Then I erase a bit and redraw and click the shutter a few more times, and so on. So it’s random, yet with direction, ordered towards the future. I start with no set idea for the film. Each image I draw and photograph creates suggestions which lead to the next image, and these images build up inside me as the work advances. I enjoy the unique possibilities of this particular medium, which doesn’t require anything else but charcoal and paper.”
A quick note on Story To… Unfortunately, for various reasons, it’s been necessary to put the project on hold. More here.
kate nicholson 