Dwelling in the invisibility - Liu Chi Tung Solo Exhibition

【Dwelling in the invisibility - Liu Chi Tung Solo Exhibition】

Date｜1 September - 6 October 2019 Opening｜Sun. 1 September 3:00pm Forum｜Sun. 1 September 3:30pm Forum Guest｜Kao Jun Hunn, Chien I Ming Walking-Tracing the Hou-Po River ｜28 Sep. & 6 Oct. 【Exhibition Statement】 Civilizations have flourished along rivers, and colonizers have also pushed forward following the same routes. This exhibition ponders on this and applies it to form a physical path. The “invisibility” in “Dwelling in the Invisibility” suggests a place that exists but can’t be perceived visually, and “dwelling” is associated with place of residence; thus, the two components point at an existence that is two-fold by nature and one that transcends beyond visual experiences. Not reaching for the distant other, the everyday reality that is actually a simulacrum is highlighted, with memories depended on for guidance in pushing through. The sun sets a little earlier in the east side of this island because of the mountains that separate it from the west, and the cities in the west then follows the rhythms of the east, with the sun also setting earlier due to high-rise buildings and river embankments. The modern urban structure of the island is derived from repeated replications of desires executed by several imperial colonizers, and as local people succumbed to and became depended on civilization, they slowly lost their navigation skills for nature, with their memories for history disoriented and their sense of identity fragmented. Who? Where from? Where to? Questions like these often result in irrelevant answers that bring contempt upon oneself. A punctum, which saw the body breaking away from nature, manifested before me on one afternoon in a small alley. As we walked by a row of old houses, the Chingshui Temple, some old banyan trees, a water well, a pump, and a gutter, my boy friend then pointed towards under my feet and said, “This is the Fang Creek!” I was puzzled by the idea of a river running inside a gutter, a river stream inside a city, in a place that I pass by everyday. Although a mysterious structure has been placed over it, with inscriptions that have faded through time, I began to sense a divine presence because of this invisible river meandering through the alleyways, passing through the city’s up-and-down topography, and also the industry and location names associated with it. Constructions for modern underground waterways began after the Industrial Revolution, with the objective of improving hygienic conditions and preventing rivers and streams from being polluted. Modern water management and infrastructure in Taiwan began during its Japanese colonial era. Large-scale underground water system was implemented in the 60s to accommodate the growing population and urbanization. However, most of the everyday wastewater is still now being discharged into rivers via various pipes and ditches, and people have grown accustomed to rivers becoming large gutters. Reflecting on the relationship between life in the past and moving water, I recalled that I once misunderstood the water that we get in cities all came from water pipes and the water bureau, and I would never forget the time when a water pipe got clogged and my balcony was swamped. I lived near the Wushantou Reservoir when I was in college and thought the place was heaven on earth. One day I was stuck in the mud at the bottom of the reservoir during a dry spell, and as I fought hard to pull up my sinking body, I was reminded that the reservoir was built along the Guantian River. A line is drawn out in the exhibition space. This line resembles a route that follows a river, and it is an attempt at attesting the relationship between the cycle of how water is used in today’s time and myself, showing that the reservoir is at the upstream of water usage; human behavior is at the middle reach, and rivers running through the city have become the invisible downstream. As memories from my childhood crumble and my youth collapses, I escape from a single-sided view that only shows the good, shattering the filter that evokes bliss and wonder. Leaving behind the rules and regulations on hygiene and safety that I was taught, I push through the concrete jungle and venture out into the ocean.

【About Liu Chi Tung】

1993 Born in Kaohsiung, Taiwan

2015 B.F.A. , Department of Material Arts and Design, Tainan National University of the Arts

Currently a M.F.A candidate at the Graduate Institute of Trans-disciplinary Arts, Taipei National University of the Arts

Group Exhibitions/Presentations

2019 “Street Fun, Fun Street—Inhale! Exhale! What a Quality Life Really Entails” —Museum of Contemporary Art, Taipei

2018 “Airdrop Taiwan: Margin Space x Kao Jun-Honn x ET@T— ET@T, Taipei

2017 “Art Bus Doing the Powerslide” — Taipei

2017 “Daxi Culture Festival” — Art Museum in the Alleys of Daxi, Taoyuan

2016 “The Young Voice - A Joint Exhibition with 10 Schools” — Dadun Cultural Center, Taichung

2015 “Nan Pa”, a graduation exhibition presented by the 6th graduating class of the Department of Material Arts and Design, Tainan National University of the Arts — Tainan

2015 “The Great Scenery - Absolute Space Joint Exhibition” — Absolute Space, Tainan

2014 “Passing By” — NEPO Gallery, Taipei

2013 “GERD” — Eslite Dunnan Branch, Taipei

2013 “No Tangible Plans – Site-specific Experimental Exhibition and Performance by 12 People” — Alley No. 228, Ximen Road, Tainan Organizer: Absolute Space for the Arts Sponsor: National Culture and Arts Foundation, Cultural Affairs Bureau of Tainan City