CHINA TOWN

In 2000, when I came to UK to study, I found myself roaming unexpectedly around China Town in London. Feelings of exile suddenly emerged, having been hidden in my mind for a long time. The Pavilion and the Monumental Archway in China Town began to recall specific buildings in Taiwan.
I wanted to realise this feeling in a body of work, even though these two place, the United Kingdom and Taiwan are several thousands miles apart. In retrospect I now understood that I have had the feeling of exile in my mind for ages before starting the artwork. Hence, I had already unconsciously started collecting appropriate thoughts in my memory, begun writing my autobiography to explore the subject of exile and memory.

THE ART WORK

For the five sections of the artwork (see diagram) I have collected separate images of old buildings in the United Kingdom, each recalling a specific building in Taiwan. I have visited each pair of buildings and taken self portrait photographs before the buildings. Both countries are old and traditional cultures.Afterwards, I took the pairs of photographs and joined them together at one edge to make a diptych. On the junction I overlaid a life-size self portrait.
From this simplest of ideas, I want to explore more complex meanings and implications.

HOMESICKNESS

I have a strong sense of being an exile. In front of the buildings in the UK, I felt homesick. My heart was touched deeply.
Buildings are strongly evocative, and old buildings (each with their dedicated purpose - Church, Town hall, Shelter) serve to stimulate the memory. They also serve as metaphors for the body itself, capable of storing impressions and events. In my own artwork, my body can be related to these old buildings, fixed and carrying my own experience and narrative of exile.
Old buildings are quiet and still. They seem to contain an extended and extensive story waiting for me to explore. Old buildings for me, cannot be moved away and reflect my predicament - feelings of exile in the UK, unable to go back to my homeland.
In my mind I make the contrast with food, with the food of home that can be held, moved, touched and go inside my body. It is warmly nostalgic. The relationship between exile and nostalgia I also want to scrutinise.

REPRESENTING THE PAST

In my artwork I stand isolated in front of the two buildings. I seem to recall and sympathise with the buildings. There is a triangularity of condolence. For me, the experience of exile is being held between two lands, the present land and the homeland. Memory tries to bridge the gap. In my mind, there is a constant struggle between exile and memory. My split and jointed portraits in the artwork of two photographs try to express this. The junction between the two is a crossing, a frontier, a fusion, and other format of transition that I intend to explore further.

Artwork 1 Title:

Thirty Thousand Miles of Exile

Artwork 1 Subtitle:

UK ---- Brighton ---- West Pier °½ Taiwan ----Taipei County ---- Dan-Shoei ---- Dan-Hai ----Pier?

UK ---- London ---- Brockley ---- Nunhead Cemetery ---- Two Chinese Tombs °½ Taiwan ---- Taipei County ---- Dan-Shoei ---- Dan-Jiang High School ---- Cemetery of Foreign Priests

UK ---- London ---- China Town ---- The Pavilion °½ Taiwan ---- I-Lan County ---- Su-Ao ---- Seven-Star Mountain ---- The Pavilion

UK ---- London ---- China Town ---- The Monumental Archway °½ Taiwan ---- Chang-Hua County ---- Lu-Gang ---- Long-Shan Temple ---- The Main Gate

UK ---- London ---- Tate Modern °½ Taiwan