SEASCAPE - Lee Jiun-Shyan Solo Exhibition

SEASCAPE - Lee Jiun-Shyan Solo Exhibition Curator｜Hsu Yuan-Ta (Associate Professor at the Department of Fine Arts, Tainan University of Technology) Date｜2017 / 10 / 29 - 12 / 03 Opening｜2017 / 10 / 29 (Sun.) 15:00 Forum｜2017 / 11 / 04 (Sat.) 15:00 Panelists｜Hsu Yuan-Ta, Chiang Po-Shin (Associate Professor at the Department of Art History, Tainan National University of the Arts)

Taike's Taiwanese Scent of Surging Waves: SEASCAPE - Lee Jiun-Shyan Solo Exhibition Hsu Yuan-Ta Associate Professor at the Department of Fine Arts, Tainan University of Technology The title of this solo exhibition by Lee Jiun-Shyan, Seascape, references the term for “ocean waves” in Taiwanese, and the intention of the exhibition is to focus on the seas surrounding Taiwan. Surrounded by oceans at all sides, the only administrative district in Taiwan that is not next to an ocean is Nantou County, which is why, logically speaking, Taiwan should be a land with deep emotional nautical connections that should be embedded in its lifestyle, or the sea should be an integral part of its historical memory. However, the truth is Taiwanese people’s experiences and memories with the sea have gradually faded throughout Taiwan’s developmental course, because of the control and blockade of coastal access commanded by the National Government of the Republic of China after its retreat to Taiwan in 1945 after World War II, and with intentional concealment and even deletion of different ethnic history in Taiwan, ocean cultures within Taiwan’s different ethnic groups have also been gradually erased, resulting in an increasing unfamiliarity with the sea. When the coastline of Taiwan was still under military control, warning signs were seen posted everywhere on beaches, forbidding people from taking photos, and painting or sketching coastal sceneries was also prohibited. With bunkers and guard posts scattered throughout the coast, the history and memories that each ethnic group in Taiwan had for the sea also slowly dissipated. Coupled with China’s continental cultural discourse, Taiwan grew increasingly more detached from the ocean. After the lifting of martial law in 1987 with loosened political control, the people of Taiwan began embarking on exploring their sense of Self and ethnic culture, with the history and memories associated with the sea gradually retrieved and the relationship between Taiwanese people and the ocean slowly recovered. Taike Ecstasy Born in Madou District of Tainan, Lee Jiun-Shyan grew up in a creekside region in Beigang. Lee’s art seeks to explore deeply grounded culture and does not follow Western trends, or in his words, he is not looking for his art to be “aesthetically light and pale, or showcase high-end taste or style as seen with luxury brands such as Armani or Louis Vuitton.” What he is after is culture that is substantial and local; he is looking for what’s “thrilling, tropical, connected to the land and the ocean, and things that are of the sub-culture.” No reservations, restrictions, or excuses. Frankly speaking, this path he has chosen is a challenging route that is outside of the mainstream; however, having spent some time in New York where he contemplated and reflected on his own cultural value, followed by the Taiwan Project from 1991 to 2000, Lee has tangibly walked on this land, examined its historical archives, and interacted and talked with the people of this land, and from which, he has reached the profound realization that in order to attain a “Taiwan-ness” in his art, he needs to be a true taike , wholeheartedly, no holding back. To profoundly express the notable features found in Taiwan’s culture and history is what makes Lee, this true taike, feel ecstatic. The radar that Lee employs for his quest of “Taiwan-ness” is aligned with the original name of his hometown, Mada, which means “eyes”, and what he sees are the cultural phenomena, history, and value of Taiwan. Lee’s paintings are usually not just impartial illustrations of simple sceneries; in other words, he doesn’t just recreate landscapes, but digs deeper to convey Taiwan’s complex history, culture, and linguistic development. Language is a carrier of the history and memories of a culture, and this is why Lee often creates paintings consisting of collages of different languages from different cultures. This collage approach also represents Taiwan’s complex and diverse political, historical development, and also showcases the comprehensive, crisscrossing, boisterous “Taiwan-ness” found in the images, semiotics, languages, shapes, colors, and lines in Lee’s artworks, which are opened for multidirectional interpretations. Scent and Charm of the Sea The scent of the sea is an integral subject in Lee’s Taiwan Project. Based on his memory, the sea is connected to his childhood; it is something that he feels familiar with. During the making of the Taiwan Project, he also conducted in-depth exploration of the sea-related history and culture of Taiwan’s indigenous people. These experiences led to the beginning of his journey of creating art about the sea. In addition to his childhood memories connected to Mazu the sea goddess, fishing village, and the coastal region, he has also created a series inspired by issues that have risen since 2005 regarding Austronesia culture, including a series related to the Amis/Pancaw (Pangcah), an Austronesian ethnic group native to Taiwan. In June 2017, Lee traveled to Batan Island in the Philippines with his friends from the group they have named the Fishsnipers. Batan Island is a place that shares many similarities with the indigenous Tao tribe of Lanyu (Orchid Island) in Taiwan. People from the two islands could even communicate with each other. The scent of the sea is an important, fun, and appealing part of local Taiwanese culture and history, and it is also integral to the “Taiwan-ness” that Lee is after. Audience will be able to see in Seascape - Lee Jiun-Shyan Solo Exhibition rogue waves from the seas around Taiwan; a cultural journey on motorcycle surveying the “Eye of the Tao”; the vast and borderless connection between the cultures of Lanyu and Batan; Lanyu’s seaside gazebos and puzzle-plate boats with deep sea culture connections; waterwheel and beautiful women; a peaceful temple by the sea with nobody in sight except a black dog; a fishpond with a waterwheel; and swimmers swimming with ease out to sea. In the middle of our interview, after taking a sip from my beer, I asked Lee, “How come all the swimmers in your paintings are all swimming outwards?” “I didn’t think about it that much when I was painting, but it’s probably because I feel like we are all swimming out towards somewhere beyond the sea?” said Lee while looking at two of his paintings.