2019  Highlight

附於已殤之姿、傀於熠熠之魅
Sparkling Ghost

CHUANG Dao-Ming
​Solo Exhibition

“There is a confidence in realness. You have no fear showing your  real self because you know you are beloved .”

 

In my opinion, it is because at a certain level you know who you are.

 

 “Realness is also a straightforward formula.”

For instance, we laugh when delighted, wipe when heart broken, let go wisely when outraged instead of repressing, question when uncertain instead of hanging, seek when desiring, look up when losing hope instead of pretending strong, confront the pain when hurt instead of hiding.

 

Through realness the enriched life diversity is shown, individual uniqueness captured. I feel this is the most beautiful state for human beings; in other words, it becomes even more beautiful if we learn to accept others’ realness.

 

Or we convince ourselves and others to make such choice as this kind of socialization is the best and, ultimate survival kit, I think.

 

Human beings, as the mono-dominating species, the acts of cheating, raping, conquering and killing  are spreading like virus, causing damages to not only human society, but also to the other species and even to the non-biological world. The damages are everywhere and irreparable.

 

As our relationships are torn apart, we inevitably learn to disguise in camouflage, to hide the most innocent selves, and to ignore those uncertain feeling.  We sharpen our horns; we have been alienated into glamourous beasts, full of wounds and scars. We have finally turned into puppets just as expected.

 

 “Being in a world that glorifies falseness and oppresses realness; based on my own understanding and linked with the history twisted with lies, I want to discuss about the situation when realness being usurped in my paintings.”

 

In my opinion, painting is a medium that is embedded with tactile body experience, which is open and profound in revealing the problem of realness in our daily life.  Revolution is the core concept of Western art history, especially when talking about paintings. Painting is a series of defining and redefining, and for myself, it is a recording of the quest for realness. Moreover, the physicality of painting will lead us into a series of mental activity, absorbing our soul hidden in our consciousness. I personally view it (painting) as a preparation for the quest for realness, and an entrance to connect with our inner selves, which sums up that painting is about connecting realness.

In this series of work, I capture and compile images that are de-contextualized, death-related and alienating. After repeated and merely self-abusive capturing and modification, the process that realness being completely out-taken by falseness is projected. At the same time, owning to the quality of resistance and escape within painting, I attempt an oppressive loose with those gentle or subtle yet intuitive strokes to show our attempt to protect the candlelight from being put out by the twisted authorization of false desire.

 

In the form, I take the appropriation of the symbol of death, puppet and pulp from Barbie dolls to describe the alienated state of twisted life on the setting of a death site impacted from vanishing natural scene. And then, I place the setting into a theatrical structure that is symmetrical, complete and of consumptive to bring out the luring, full of illusive words, Barbie dolls have set up under their idol-like disguise until we are trapped in our own flesh sacrifice.

 

Last but not least, this series of paintings are a demonstration of what have been kept beyond the realm of realness; there has been a lot inner searches and acceptance within my development, which turns out to be a good reminder for me to be softer, less harmful and more grateful for living with such realness.