Paradise of Illusion: New Trend of Taiwan’s Photography
Lin Hsin-I 、Wang Jun-Jieh 、Wong Ji-Fong 、Ku Shih-Yung 、Kuo Hui-Chan 、Chen Ching-Yao 、Hung Tung-Lu 、Chen Shun-Chu 、Albert Huang 、Chang May-Ling 、Li Shih-Yi 、Wu Tien-Chang 、Ben Yu 、Chen Chieh-Jen 、Lulu Hou Shur-Tzy 、姚瑞中 、Yao Jui-Chung
2002. 11. 16 — 2002. 12. 14

│EXHIBITION

Paradise of Illusion: New Trend of Taiwan’s Photography
Curator / Yao Jui-Chung

Photography, an artistic appearance of reality and plane-formation, processes creation necessarily relying on exist of a subject. In Taiwan, since lack of photographic esthetics and theory, photographers’ excessive dependence on their subject, and influence in result of believing costly devices and photo-salon system, that leads to several conservative phenomena turned up in Taiwan’s industry. For example, standardized style of colorful aestheticism, sticking to established practice of classically black/white actual photography, and overflow of bridal photo shot, etc. All have left people the percepts of photography about superficial tools to satisfy “visual pleasure, or extraordinary stimulation of senses; closed environment of general photography makes research and presentation of pure photo-art seldom draw attentions of popularity.

In Taiwan, in addition to photographers’ creations made of photographic material, plenty of artists apply photo techniques on existing articles for their inventions, which appear an outstanding difference from conception of photographers engaged in absolute picture shot. They don’t treat “decisive moment” as a top guiding rule nor deem photographs need to faithfully “reproduce” realities or tell stories, let alone pictures should be confined by any formation or syntax. For these reasons, the sort of works possesses conditions of photograph, though, expands another new situation of image.

The exhibition intends to show the developing inclination of photography of new generation by a possibility that’s based on picture syntax but truly differed from photograph, invites artists including some significant producers and recently emerging modern creators to discuss 4 subjects on sampling: (1) Investigation of Field Topology, (2) Fictitious Utopia, (3) The Lost Paradise, (4) Division and Disguise of oneself. Attempt to sketch a likely future photo-condition and social dialogue in the trial, structure an exclusive conception of Taiwan’s contemporary photography, further.

In the digitized world, something can be seen is, the progress of technical instruments brings photo-art a jumping breakthrough; a photograph is no longer a mere picture, permeates over areas of all kinds of invention, it unfolds harmonized new language and world view. This is only a starting, the universe is being blurred its original face by globalization; the new heaven is right there waiting for you, we’ve never seen a real heaven though.