The Goddess of Mercy’s features slowly emerge with each and every one of the sculptor’s strike and chisel. The fallen marble chips scattered on the ground are still cast by the breath of the goddess and morph into vivid animals in the work Guanyin. Collect--cleanse--remodel. First from marble, to the Bodhisattva and finally to the animal sculptures, the artist reactivates the chiseled residue often considered as waste material and re-shapes them into sacred deers which symbolize good fortune and longevity. The artwork beckons the audience to follow, according to the various relations between person and object, along the trail of converting mediums, into the spiritual realm of substance. As the work gradually discloses its profound concerns with traditional culture and folk beliefs, Cheng-Hung Chiu continues with his usual gentle touch and lyrically transforms the established operational system of substance by re-shaping our imagination of the hidden potential in material substance--new potentials which alter when confronted by various situations. Through his retrospection of the craftsmanship of our father’s generation, this is for Chiu an ongoing path of transforming from art the emotions buried deep within history, society and religion.
Opening Reception on 5/24 (Sat.)
Curator: Chun-Yi CHANG