SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
The Ocean is Romantic because it does not Drown you to Death
10 June - 02 July, 2023
YAO, Taichung, Taiwan
Live performence: Art Naming
Movie Screening: Das Boot / Titanic (1943) / Kon-Tiki / All is Lost
Curator: Hao-Chun Hsieh
大海之所以浪漫是因為它沒溺死你
10 June - 02 July, 2023
窯座，台中，台灣
現場演出：奇能
電影放映：從海底出擊／鐵達尼號（1943）／孤筏重洋／海上求生記
策展人：謝浩群
補助單位：國藝會
10 June - 02 July, 2023
YAO, Taichung, Taiwan
Live performence: Art Naming
Movie Screening: Das Boot / Titanic (1943) / Kon-Tiki / All is Lost
Curator: Hao-Chun Hsieh
大海之所以浪漫是因為它沒溺死你
10 June - 02 July, 2023
窯座，台中，台灣
現場演出：奇能
電影放映：從海底出擊／鐵達尼號（1943）／孤筏重洋／海上求生記
策展人：謝浩群
補助單位：國藝會
Ocean has been a witness to many historical events, some marking human achievements and others significant disasters. Both continue to influence the world today. This exhibition highlights some of these events, posing the question to the audience: "We have long found emotional solace in gazing at the ocean, but are we truly unaware of these tragedies, or do we choose to ignore them?" Despite being an island nation, many people in Taiwan are unfamiliar with seafaring, instead preferring the thriving mountain activities. Once a world maritime hub and strategic location, Taiwan's relationship with the ocean now seems more like a reliance, with people eagerly seeking some form of fulfillment from it. Gradually, the sea has come to represent "romance" — a memory of occasional trips and an unbridled sentimentality. This "romance" intoxicates, masking the potential threats. By reflecting on conflicts sparked by "seafaring" throughout history, the exhibition "The Ocean is Romantic because it does not Drown you to Death" warns of peace, while celebrating the value of life.
The first piece in the exhibition, "Fleet" (2023), deconstructs a 1924 British world atlas "The Comparative Atlas," folding each page into numerous paper boats. This atlas, while encompassing early maritime data, inevitably carries the shadow of colonial empires. Despite this, the atlas is notably objective. Each page is folded into a playful paper boat, erasing the lines and colors that divide humanity, emphasizing the ideal that all of humanity should share the map.
Displayed in the second exhibition room, "Black Strait" (2023) takes its name from the perilous Penghu Channel, where many early settlers to Taiwan met with shipwrecks. Viewers can observe the piece through a window in the exhibition wall but cannot enter the space. Multiple sheets of black paper, arranged on the floor and creased and flattened, resemble ocean waves under dim light, viewed from a high vantage point.
The third space features "White Slave Ship" (2023), based on 17th-century depictions of slave ships, with numerous paper figures arranged in the shape of a vessel. However, these paper figures are not black but white, symbolizing white people. This piece intentionally challenges historical imagery, suggesting that enslavement is a tragedy regardless of race.
In the final space, "Buried in the Sea" (2023) presents a painting of a shipwreck's remains. The white hull hints at the German rescue ship MV Wilhelm Gustloff, sunk during World War II, an event often forgotten or overlooked (the highest casualty maritime disaster in human history). Although the rescue ship aimed to leave the battlefield and stop the killing, it ultimately faced death.
海洋乘載了許多的歷史事件，有一些是人類的成就，有一些則是重大災難，而兩者都持續地影響著現今的世界。展覽注目了其中的部分事件，試圖向觀眾提問：「我們早已習慣用遠眺大海來達到某種情感滿足，但我們究竟是對這些悲劇毫不知情，亦或視而不見？」台灣雖為海島，多數的人們卻對航海感到陌生，取而代之的是蓬勃的山林活動。作為曾經的世界航海樞紐與戰略要地，現在的台灣海洋更像是一種依託，人們急欲在海洋中尋找某種滿足。漸漸地，海洋成為了一種「浪漫」－是偶一為之的旅行回憶，也是不知所謂的氾濫感性－而這樣的「浪漫」使人陶醉，潛在的威脅也被遮蔽。藉由歷史中由「航海」所引發的爭端，展覽《大海之所以浪漫是因為它沒溺死你》對和平提出警訊，同時也表述對生命價值的頌揚。
展場中的第一件作品為〈艦隊〉（2023）將一本出版於1924年的英國世界地圖集《The Comparative Atlas》拆解，並逐頁摺成了許多艘紙船。延續了早期航海的資料，該圖集不可避免的夾帶殖民帝國的影子。即便如此，該圖集可謂十分客觀。圖集的每一頁都被摺成了童趣的紙船，消弭了人類劃分彼此的線條與色塊，強調了全人類應共享地圖的裡想。
〈黑水溝〉（2023）將在第二個展間中展出，提名取自海象凶險澎湖水道，許多來台開墾的先民都在此發生船難。觀眾得以從展牆上的窗戶向內觀看這件作品，卻不得進入。多張排列在了地上的黑紙經過揉摺並攤開，紙上的摺痕在微弱的燈光中看似海面的浪濤，而我們制高俯瞰；第三個空間中的〈白奴船〉（2023）基於17世紀的黑奴船圖畫，以數量眾多的紙人排成船隻形狀。然而紙人的顏色並非黑色，而是象徵白種人的白色。本作品故意挑戰了歷史意象，而無論何種人種為奴皆為悲劇。
在最後一個空間中，〈海葬〉（2023）的繪畫呈現了一艘沈船殘骸。白色的船身暗示了因戰爭而被擊沈的德國救援船威廉古斯塔夫號，也透露著其沈沒事件的被遺忘或被省略（人類史上傷亡人數最高的海難）。雖然救援船的意圖在於離開戰場與停下殺戮，它們最終仍然步入死亡。
The first piece in the exhibition, "Fleet" (2023), deconstructs a 1924 British world atlas "The Comparative Atlas," folding each page into numerous paper boats. This atlas, while encompassing early maritime data, inevitably carries the shadow of colonial empires. Despite this, the atlas is notably objective. Each page is folded into a playful paper boat, erasing the lines and colors that divide humanity, emphasizing the ideal that all of humanity should share the map.
Displayed in the second exhibition room, "Black Strait" (2023) takes its name from the perilous Penghu Channel, where many early settlers to Taiwan met with shipwrecks. Viewers can observe the piece through a window in the exhibition wall but cannot enter the space. Multiple sheets of black paper, arranged on the floor and creased and flattened, resemble ocean waves under dim light, viewed from a high vantage point.
The third space features "White Slave Ship" (2023), based on 17th-century depictions of slave ships, with numerous paper figures arranged in the shape of a vessel. However, these paper figures are not black but white, symbolizing white people. This piece intentionally challenges historical imagery, suggesting that enslavement is a tragedy regardless of race.
In the final space, "Buried in the Sea" (2023) presents a painting of a shipwreck's remains. The white hull hints at the German rescue ship MV Wilhelm Gustloff, sunk during World War II, an event often forgotten or overlooked (the highest casualty maritime disaster in human history). Although the rescue ship aimed to leave the battlefield and stop the killing, it ultimately faced death.
海洋乘載了許多的歷史事件，有一些是人類的成就，有一些則是重大災難，而兩者都持續地影響著現今的世界。展覽注目了其中的部分事件，試圖向觀眾提問：「我們早已習慣用遠眺大海來達到某種情感滿足，但我們究竟是對這些悲劇毫不知情，亦或視而不見？」台灣雖為海島，多數的人們卻對航海感到陌生，取而代之的是蓬勃的山林活動。作為曾經的世界航海樞紐與戰略要地，現在的台灣海洋更像是一種依託，人們急欲在海洋中尋找某種滿足。漸漸地，海洋成為了一種「浪漫」－是偶一為之的旅行回憶，也是不知所謂的氾濫感性－而這樣的「浪漫」使人陶醉，潛在的威脅也被遮蔽。藉由歷史中由「航海」所引發的爭端，展覽《大海之所以浪漫是因為它沒溺死你》對和平提出警訊，同時也表述對生命價值的頌揚。
展場中的第一件作品為〈艦隊〉（2023）將一本出版於1924年的英國世界地圖集《The Comparative Atlas》拆解，並逐頁摺成了許多艘紙船。延續了早期航海的資料，該圖集不可避免的夾帶殖民帝國的影子。即便如此，該圖集可謂十分客觀。圖集的每一頁都被摺成了童趣的紙船，消弭了人類劃分彼此的線條與色塊，強調了全人類應共享地圖的裡想。
〈黑水溝〉（2023）將在第二個展間中展出，提名取自海象凶險澎湖水道，許多來台開墾的先民都在此發生船難。觀眾得以從展牆上的窗戶向內觀看這件作品，卻不得進入。多張排列在了地上的黑紙經過揉摺並攤開，紙上的摺痕在微弱的燈光中看似海面的浪濤，而我們制高俯瞰；第三個空間中的〈白奴船〉（2023）基於17世紀的黑奴船圖畫，以數量眾多的紙人排成船隻形狀。然而紙人的顏色並非黑色，而是象徵白種人的白色。本作品故意挑戰了歷史意象，而無論何種人種為奴皆為悲劇。
在最後一個空間中，〈海葬〉（2023）的繪畫呈現了一艘沈船殘骸。白色的船身暗示了因戰爭而被擊沈的德國救援船威廉古斯塔夫號，也透露著其沈沒事件的被遺忘或被省略（人類史上傷亡人數最高的海難）。雖然救援船的意圖在於離開戰場與停下殺戮，它們最終仍然步入死亡。
LAN Chung-Hsuan
Fleet 艦隊, 2023
Paper
6 x 20 x 7 cm x 30
Fleet 艦隊, 2023
Paper
6 x 20 x 7 cm x 30
LAN Chung-Hsuan
Black Strait 黑水溝, 2023
Paper, model ships
Dimension variable
Black Strait 黑水溝, 2023
Paper, model ships
Dimension variable
LAN Chung-Hsuan
White Slave Ship 白奴船, 2023
Paper
Dimension variable
White Slave Ship 白奴船, 2023
Paper
Dimension variable
LAN Chung-Hsuan,
Buried in the Sea 海葬, 2023
Acrylic on canvas
60 x 72 cm
Buried in the Sea 海葬, 2023
Acrylic on canvas
60 x 72 cm
LAN Chung-Hsuan and the Toys — The Ocean is Romantic because it does not Drown you to Death, Lai Pei Juan, 2023 (English)
藍仲軒與玩具 — — 《大海之所以浪漫是因為它沒溺死你》展覽筆記，賴沛雋，2023（中文）
藍仲軒與玩具 — — 《大海之所以浪漫是因為它沒溺死你》展覽筆記，賴沛雋，2023（中文）
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
FEATURES
CURATING
PRESS
TEXT
CV
@lanchunghsuan
[email protected]
LAN CHUNG-HSUAN © 2024
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
FEATURES
CURATING
PRESS
TEXT
CV
@lanchunghsuan
[email protected]
LAN CHUNG-HSUAN © 2024