The Animal Awakens is Tsai Yi-Ju’s solo exhibition at MOT/ARTS two years after holding his Nurture of the Earth-Meditator exhibit in 2011. In 2009, Tsai presented the instant power released by desire through his A Desiring Tree Pot series, which reflects his exuberant vitality and direct observations. The Meditator series in 2011 continued to reveal his deep affection for the environment and the idealistic philosophy he pursued aimed at living harmoniously with nature. The Animal Awakens in 2013 represents a continuation of his humanistic concerns for the natural world, but this time shifts the attention from plants to animals. What has been changed is the perceptive personal interpretation of a different subject in a different period. Unchanged, however, is the artist’s original aim and intent for his artistic creation, which was formed after fusing together his external life experiences with his internal spiritual awakening.
Over the course of nearly a decade of intense artistic creation, Tsai has focused on perceiving the existence of what it means to be alive. By projecting his sympathies onto animals, Tsai sees different co-existent states between animals and humans, including men’s dominance over animals and the revolt of animals. He managed to structure a new look with his sensitive strokes, expressing his reflection upon the environment through his artistic creation.
After A Desiring Tree Pot and Nurture of the Earth-Meditator, Tsai put aside his past habits and created this series with a more palpable, stream-of-consciousness style of painting. In doing so, he incorporates a distinctive visual effect through the various textures and tones offered by oil paint, embracing thick, strong colors that seem to echo the instinctual howls of animals. Unlike his past technique in spattering and mergence, the artist uses lines similar to children’s doodles to draw the contours of his figures. This kind of method can be traced back to his solid grounding in Eastern ink wash when he was still a student. Compared with others, he has a sharper skill in employing the materials and strokes. In the meantime, he still retains a kind of flexibility and openness when interacting with the pigments and textures in such a way that underscores how artistic creation is not simply about the imagination of themes, but a true interaction between the pigments and strokes.
In The Animal Awakens, we see how he begins with his life experiences to make artwork. His strokes appear to be wild and unrestrained, yet they also signify his passion for life. His care for the life on this planet is deeply embedded within each fiery stroke on the canvas. In addition, we also expect to sense an honest and real attitude from The Animal Awakens, seeing the artist’s open and candid artistic demonstration in the contemporary art scene.
*image (left)
courtesy of the artist
