內景 Intrinsic Scenes

內景 Intrinsic Scenes 
 
文/  瑪格瑞‧布朗 Marguerite Brown  譯/  周抱樸
文章來源/ Vanguard Gallery  Apr. 2007 



    「我對動作中的寧靜,曖昧中的安定,渾沌中的冥想非常感興趣。」
 -------- 周于棟  



    源自個人的經驗以及道家哲學,周于棟讓人著迷的結構,傳達著深層的精神體認。道家的核心隱喻與極性相對、似非而是以及自然的變化過程關係密切。古老的觀念,以及它和現代人的關係,形成了周于棟最新作品「內景」的基盤。


    周于棟在台灣的中國文化大學研習的時候,正處於遏抑自由創造表現的壓迫性政治環境。廿八年前剛出道,他就有感於對當時台灣現代生活的省察,敏感地用毛筆和彩墨畫出在地的人民。在當時被認為是激進的,因為沒有人把台灣社會的現實性觀點,以及對忍受困苦的敘述表達在作品中。他經常畫著熱鬧市街的生活,發現了那一生的記憶都蝕刻在線條和輪廓裡的在地人的臉龐,提供了豐足的主題素材。


    從台灣開始,他的實踐,逐漸發展為包含著各種技法和媒材的樣貌,關心的卻始終如一。經由油畫、水印版畫、綜合拼貼立體造型,最近他完成了一件大型的裝置。周于棟很能善用每一件媒材,把它們都導入表達觀念的管道中。全部的自然生命都來自深層流動能量的意識,緣此,他把日常的物件,現代生活的棄物,視為創造他多元面而作品的取之不盡的素材來源。


    15年前全家來到澳洲,是被這可以讓他建造大空間工作室和居家的廣大土地所吸引。在這裡的城市,他仍同樣感受現代人的互不關心。雖然有不同的模樣與相異的情節,但那本質性的能量是不變的。人與人之間的粗淺接觸、短暫性的日常事物、感情價值的失落、易取易得的事物衍生社會負面副產品等種種,讓人真正地疏離著。


    這最新的作品正敘述都會的事實。藉由大量收集的金屬管線、破陶碎瓷、建築材料以及隨處得來的物品,他建造了一個詳細而複雜的世界,這次展出的主要作品–內景。


    變得陌生的熟悉物質,在這個夢幻的裝置中重新被人前思後想著。牆、天花板、地板都鋪著鏡子,不同色彩的燈穿過交織的物體,結合著營造出沒有邊界、使人迷惑的空間的反射世界。他在這些迥然不同的物件中,創造了視覺與物理的關係,映照出本質性的能量在人類相互之間、與環境之間流動著。


    道家「矛盾統合」的理想境界,是在整合的相對立能量的互濟運作,陰與陽的自然推拉結合,是最好的現象展現。這件「內景」正審視著這樣的情狀。作品中景物互動的性質,也展現了這個情境。有些物品一動,就帶動了各處更多的起伏抖晃,產生了光影反射的新穎的變化。觀者被引進主動加入在這互動的作品裡,而不是只是被動的吸收訊息。也許這正隱喻著,不同個性的美好互相接合,導向相同的滿足結果。


 

“I am very interested in seeking the calm in movement, the stability in ambiguity and the meditation in chaos.” -Earthstone Chu


Earthstone Chu’s intriguing constructions aim to communicate a profound spiritual awareness derived from personal experience, and the philosophy of Taoism. In Taoism, the central metaphors concern polarity, paradox and the process of change that occurs in the natural world. These ancient concepts and how they relate to contemporary human experience forms the basis of Chu’s most recent work, Intrinsic Scenes.  


Chu studied in Taiwan at the Chinese Culture University, under an oppressive political environment that stifled free creative expression. He began his career 25 years ago making sensitively rendered Chinese pen and ink paintings of the local people, inspired to reflect modern life in Taiwan. At the time this was considered radical, as no art was being made that took a realistic view of Taiwanese society and told of the hardships endured.  Chu frequently drew from life in the city streets, and found the faces of the local population provided ample subject matter, each with a lifetime of memories etched in its lines and contours. 


From these beginnings in Taiwan, Chu’s practice has evolved to encompass a wide range of techniques and mediums, yet his concerns remain consistent. Progressing through oil painting, woodblock printmaking, mixed media assemblages and sculptural work, his recent work is on a large scale and installation based. Chu is flexible in his approach to choosing a medium, as they all form a conduit for expression but are secondary to the concept. Stemming from a deep consciousness of the flow of energy from which all life and nature stems, the artist views everyday objects, the refuse of modern life, as a rich source of material to create his multi-faceted work. 


Chu moved with his family from Taiwan 15 years ago, attracted to Australia by its vast sense of space and the opportunity to set up a large studio and house. He found that the experience of living in a city is the same regardless of place. While its visual appearance and the way it is structured may vary dramatically – the essential energy is unchanged. The superficial connection that individuals have with each other, the impermanence of everyday objects, and the lack of value we attach to people and things are negative by-products of societies where everything is so easily available, yet many individuals remain essentially isolated.


This latest work aims to address these urban realities. By amassing a collection of metal piping and cables, broken crockery, building materials and other random objects, Chu constructs an elaborate world in the major piece in the exhibition, Intrinsic Scenes. Familiar objects appear strange, re-contextualised in this surreal setting. The walls, roof and floor are tiled with mirrors, while light globes in varying colours punctuate the interwoven objects, combining to create a reflective world filled with limitless angles and deceptive space. In creating visual and physical relationships between these disparate items, Chu mirrors the intrinsic connection humans have with each other and our environment – the same energy flows through all. 


Intrinsic Scenes also investigates the Taoist idea of ‘unified contradiction’, the dynamic interplay between unified opposites best expressed in the natural push and pull of Ying/Yang energy.  This is seen in the interactive nature of the work. Objects touched immediately begin to move, sending further movement rippling throughout, generating a fanciful play of light and reflection. The viewer is invited to engage in the artwork, rather than remain a passive receiver of information. Perhaps a metaphor for greater personal engagement with each other leading to a similarly satisfying result.