Hailing from different cultural backgrounds, yet using the same virtuous methods for handling material and space, artists, Hui-Chiao Chen and Titarubi, are holding a joint exhibition for the first time at Sakshi Gallery Taipei.
Raised in Taipei, Chen Hui-Chiao (1964-) often creates installation artworks using objects such as roses and needles as symbols and form elements; the overall sense and expressive forms to her finished works reveal an inclination for a low limit. Based on a deep interest in dreams and astrology, her recent works also often combine popular images together, using abstract geometric shapes to express stars and the universe as free emotional associations of form symbols.*1
In her artist statement for this exhibition, she writes: A rose, a needle, a ping pong ball, a piece of cotton... these objects and materials are nothing more than ideas with different names to me - they are all just a vague and ambiguous language art, tumbling in the realm of gods. These are the words within the words we speak...From white to red, blue to black, dream to insomnia, hope to action; I cannot decipher between minimalism and expressionism, nor the line between abstraction and hypothesis. The word “Art,” along with its flowing imaginations and symbols, is like a sun in my hungry quest for intelligence and visual phenomena. Now, it is able to be shattered into minuscule particles, and reflected into a deeper, emptier space.
Chen cites a famous quote from Umberto Eco’s novel, The Name of the Rose: “Yesterday’s rose endures in its name, we hold empty names.” This expresses her personal view on the deep, mysterious link that binds the soul with emotions, beliefs, and eternity. Regardless if the work has a name such as The Name of the Rose, Divine Comedy, or Black & Blue, the same pronunciation of words hides different meanings. Illogical visual aesthetics also decide the fundamental components behind the forms of her works.
Hailing from Bandung in Indonesia, Titarubi (1968-), also known as the “Paris of Java,” reflects her passionate concern over social issues in her works through various mediums and creative paradigms. The “Body” has long been one of Titarubi’s main focuses. In her work, “Bayang-Bayang Maha Kecil#8,” a child’s face is covered with verses from the Koran, with hands slightly raised above a pedestal to form the rites of Salat. The dimly emanating blue glow signifies the devout holiness of religion.
As a woman, Titarubi provides a unique take on the subject of “Gender”. Living with the organs of a female body, a “Woman” is groomed to become one. Gender is not only a physiological designation, but also reaffirms gender roles dictated by social values. As a result, a woman is expected to look like a woman, no matter how uncomfortable or burdensome her clothes may be. The artist sews together a dress of pearls needle by needle into “Baju Manik,” which represents Titarubi’s strong dissension against a male-oriented society where women are taught to be more mindful of their appearances than their minds, like glamorous dresses that are empty inside.
In contrast to her more controversial sculptures, the three works of charcoal sketches in this exhibition reflect the more poetic and meditative side of Titarubi, which are quite rare departures from her usual subjects. Like a dark forest in a dream, these sketches are formed from charcoal strokes and crumpled ashes. It is as though the artist is isolated from the world, conversing in a murmur with her work. In Titarubi’s sculptures, we witness a very different conversation, one that is taking place amongst the artist, life and society. In contrast to her sculptural works, the meditative murmuring in her charcoal sketches seem to be a truer, yet more seldom seen representation of herself.
Note
*1. See Chia Chi Jason Wang “Variations of Geometric Abstraction in Taiwan’s Contemporary Ar,” in Variations of Geometric Abstraction in Taiwan’s Contemporary Art (Taipei: Eslite Gallery, 2010), p.5.
