2014 一個旅程 A Journey

 

在2014年五月至六月於澳洲伯斯市Central TAFE Perth駐村期間，以旅人行走的偶遇作為發想，從「什麼是一個純粹的旅行?」的問題開始，試圖不依循創作者的本能，譬如總是企圖性的尋找所謂稱之為靈感的時刻或與自身創作相關的資料文本，而是想反向的透過偶然的隨筆或圖像的隨機記錄，從中重新地找出關注的脈絡。

 

I am on a trip, on my own. Maybe it is just like the journey anyone else has experienced, at least once in their life. Being an artist, I am conscious of the things I see and ideas which might be useful for my work and project. Does a "pure" trip exist? Perhaps, a "pure" trip means putting yourself into a state where you can just feel the surroundings instead of looking for something. 

 

One day while walking on a street in Melbourne, I was thinking of Umberto Eco's "How to Travel with A Salmon". The book talks about the small things in life, it seems funny, ironic or even not important but actually it refers to Eco's philosophy of life and the way he sees the world around him. I realized that maybe it is not about looking for something for my work, it is about how I experience things in a trip, which is also part of the journey of my life. Or maybe we all live our life by taking and finding. 

 

I did some small drawings on paper in several hotel rooms, restaurants, coffee shops, libraries, parks or other places where I stopped by. And just like anyone else trying to record something during traveling, like a diary, I chose the way (process) that I feel most familiar and comfortable-painting. When I display my sketches on the wall, they look like not only some small papers with drawings on but also visual evidence or a mark to show how a journey makes me understand a place, a city or a country. 

 

The Victorians called a mirror a "looking glass", it might be an advantage or privilege for me to exhibit my little thoughts.. my desire, my confusion..with some drawings and sketches, which are like mirrors, and every mirror reflects the me or un-me, I found on the journey.  

 

(Written during the artist-in-residency program, central TAFE, Perth, Australia. June 2014)