#roadmovie #real-lifescenario #goingabroad #goingback #phototext #existence #belonging #domesticity #books #time #breakinnarrative #fictional #factional #memory
"I Went Abroad, and then I Went Back." I-Hsuen says.
The title of the exhibition seems blunt. It in fact mirrors the artist’s life in the past few years. Through artist books, videos, slides, and other extended methods of photography, Chen presents three periods of image voyages that depict his experiences studying in the US and traveling between home and abroad. The journey initiated a deductive sort of self-reflection. Taking on the role as an outsider/stranger/L'Étranger seeking directions, Chen began to search for the disappearing sense of belonging and self-existence en route.
#公路電影 #生命情節 #出去 #回來 #攝影文本 #存在 #歸屬 #家居 #書本 #時間 #敘事斷裂 #虛構 #真實 #回憶
The title of the exhibition seems blunt. It in fact mirrors the artist’s life in the past few years. Through artist books, videos, slides, and other extended methods of photography, Chen presents three periods of image voyages that depict his experiences studying in the US and traveling between home and abroad. The journey initiated a deductive sort of self-reflection. Taking on the role as an outsider/stranger/L'Étranger seeking directions, Chen began to search for the disappearing sense of belonging and self-existence en route.
#公路電影 #生命情節 #出去 #回來 #攝影文本 #存在 #歸屬 #家居 #書本 #時間 #敘事斷裂 #虛構 #真實 #回憶
「我出國了，然後我回來了。」陳以軒說。
展覽命題看似直白，其實是藝術家這幾年的生命寫照，用書本、錄像、及幻燈片等等各種攝影的轉譯形式，描繪他赴美留學、往返異鄉的三段影像旅程，旅程中如按圖索驥般自我觀照，旁觀其身為異鄉局外人的找路姿態，找尋在路上失去的自我存在與歸屬感。
Nowhere in Taiwan ｜ 遍尋無處
Book pages(archival inkjet prints), 30.5 x 39.5 cm per page
Digital large prints, 240x300cm
2011, 2015
Book pages(archival inkjet prints), 30.5 x 39.5 cm per page
Digital large prints, 240x300cm
2011, 2015
I-Hsuen Chen went abroad in 2010 and became a foreigner in New York City. During a brief visit back home after one year overseas, he found himself rootless and isolated: a reverse culture shock so to speak. Attempting to locate his disappearing self, Chen began an image voyage that brought him to the roads of Taiwan. As if a lead character to a classic road movie, Chen adapted the tradition of American road photography and drove on to his own, personal journey.
Things and scenes passed and replaced each other on the road, from cities to towns to countrysides. Time and space seemed to loose their significance, becoming independent from the context of past and future. The sense of individual subjectivity solidified, while the sense of identity and belonging evanesced and dissipated. Chen began to document the “nowhere” in his journey—the undefined, obscured spaces in the midst of scenic sites and cityscapes; some were hardly urbanized, and others appeared to be abandoned. The series of documentation allowed the artist to reflect on the various forms of self-isolation that he found himself in.
2010年，陳以軒出國了，在紐約正式成為異鄉人。一年後回來探親時卻發現已無所適從、四處孤立，經歷了反向的文化衝擊。於是像公路電影中的主角般，為了尋找自我而上路拍照，仿製美國公路攝影的傳統，進行台灣版的、個人式的公路攝影之旅。
在路上不斷看到景物更替，從城市到鄉鎮，逐漸失去時間與空間感，遺世獨立於過去和未來的歷史脈絡；主體意識愈發清晰存在，但認同與歸屬感卻四處漂流。行旅的當下，他漸漸開始紀錄各種在中間的「無處」場景，一些既不是風景也不是城市景觀的曖昧交界，有的未都市化，有的更像是被遺棄。記錄的同時，也不自覺反身鏡像記錄了各種孤立疏離的自身狀態。
在路上不斷看到景物更替，從城市到鄉鎮，逐漸失去時間與空間感，遺世獨立於過去和未來的歷史脈絡；主體意識愈發清晰存在，但認同與歸屬感卻四處漂流。行旅的當下，他漸漸開始紀錄各種在中間的「無處」場景，一些既不是風景也不是城市景觀的曖昧交界，有的未都市化，有的更像是被遺棄。記錄的同時，也不自覺反身鏡像記錄了各種孤立疏離的自身狀態。
In Between(revisit) ｜ 在中間
Single channel video(color, sound)
Video length 11’13”
2013, 2015
Single channel video(color, sound)
Video length 11’13”
2013, 2015
In 2012, Chen broke up with his long-distanced girlfriend in the US. As a way to reminisce, he compiled a book containing a variety of private moments that took place within his two years abroad. The Punctum—a distinct and personal visual signifier—to each imagery in the book was intentionally positioned at the center fold, with the subjects’ faces and facial expressions hidden deep beneath the rift. Readers could only decipher the abstracted version of the artist’s memory, the muted plot to a story. As the author who made the seen unseen, Chen allowed his true reminiscence to reside in his own creation, the book that resembled a storeroom of memories.
2012年，在美國與遠距離的女友分手，想回顧，於是將留美這兩年之間的私密回憶整理成冊，刻意把每幅影像的刺點放置在書本裝禎的中間處，看不見臉，也看不見表情，讓讀者只能窺視回憶的抽象形，或模糊的敘事元素；身為作者也因為再次的看不見，使得真實的回憶得以封存在書本中間，像是他的記憶深處。
Past in the Future, Future in the Past ｜ 過去的未來，未來的過去
2-channel video(color, no sound), artist book, furniture from my house
Video length 12’01”, daimention variable
2013–2015
2-channel video(color, no sound), artist book, furniture from my house
Video length 12’01”, daimention variable
2013–2015
2013 marked the final chapter to the artist’s journey. Chen was at a loss about his future, whether to leave or stay, as his US visa was close to expiry. The time to go home drew near and Chen felt a familiar sense of detachment. As an attempt to figure out what may lie ahead, he set off examining his personal history in the past few years through organizing old photographs. 100 photos from the past were selected. Each photo was reassigned a future date, spanning one year in total and beginning from the date when Chen would leave the US (Aug. 31st, 2013—Aug. 30th, 2014): The Past in the Future was thus created.
After returning to Taiwan, Chen continued documenting his days for a year using an old date stamp camera. The photos taken turned into vintage images that alluded to a past prior to studying abroad, the Future in the Past. These two sets of photographs, The Past in the Future and the Future in the Past, became mirrors of a predicted future and an imagined past, reflecting on each other’s accuracy and authenticity.
After returning to Taiwan, Chen continued documenting his days for a year using an old date stamp camera. The photos taken turned into vintage images that alluded to a past prior to studying abroad, the Future in the Past. These two sets of photographs, The Past in the Future and the Future in the Past, became mirrors of a predicted future and an imagined past, reflecting on each other’s accuracy and authenticity.
2013年，最後一段旅程，在美國簽證期滿之際對未來的去留感到茫然，近鄉開始情怯，於是又著手整理舊照片，研究近年來的個人生命史，試著觀察出未來可能的生活情節與套路，共挑選了100張舊照片加上未來的日期，從離開美國那一天算起的一年內對未來預測（2013/08/31 – 2014/08/30），稱為「過去的未來」。
回國後，在這一年的當下，持續使用有記錄日期功能的舊式相機隨手拍攝，拍攝出的像是懷舊復古照片般，欲連結遙想出國前的過往，稱為「未來的過去」。這些兩組照片，便成為預測未來與真實當下未來的對照，對照當初的預測是否如實發生。
回國後，在這一年的當下，持續使用有記錄日期功能的舊式相機隨手拍攝，拍攝出的像是懷舊復古照片般，欲連結遙想出國前的過往，稱為「未來的過去」。這些兩組照片，便成為預測未來與真實當下未來的對照，對照當初的預測是否如實發生。
Defective Book ｜ 瑕疵本
Exhibition catalog
576 pages, 14x20x5cm (1.08kg)
2015
Exhibition catalog
576 pages, 14x20x5cm (1.08kg)
2015
以展覽後發行的展冊作為第四件作品，另名為「瑕疵本」，以文件圖錄、黑銀單色印刷的形式，模糊展冊與攝影集之間的框架，同時對攝影的再現特質進行思索。
1st edition limited to 550 copies
Timonium lake design 何佳興設計
Timonium lake design 何佳興設計
