Department of Cultural Affairs

October 8–December 4, 2022, 4 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Artist: Chih-Hsing Sun (孫知行)

Venue: MoCA Taipei, Plaza TV Wall

Introduction

Text | Chih-Hsing Sun
 
 Sometimes life progresses very slowly. I was working at a public service agency back then, doing design work on a computer. The old XP computer that kept me company every day ran very slowly and left me feeling helpless. Every time I moved an image in Photoshop, I had to wait for the computer to catch up. Continually waiting for an image to move from the right to the left side of the screen took so long, it was like watching an animated film. Maybe it was a kind of moving image, compelling us to redefine our sense of time and examine the viewing framework. So one day, while I waited for an image to move, I came up with an idea for a film based on a blueprint of low-resolution pixelation and lag, and from there I developed my “grainy, low-key” methodology.
 
 In today’s digital age, everyone has what it takes to be a director. When you shoot realistic subjects, you may as well bring actual real life elements into the work. Or perhaps there is no such thing as “shooting”, and images do not in fact simulate anything, but rather put their barrenness, their geometry, their jagged edges in full view. In a world that aspires to a smooth, seamless ideal, let your eyes reinterpret its forms through a grainy screen. This kind of worldview is like producing an electric fan and having to write your own instruction manual for it: you have to build your own methodological approach.
 
 This year’s Mini Exhibition on the Screen centers on the idea of traveling back in time, collecting myths and fables of defeat and migration based on stories of the late greats. I use narrative films to reinterpret landscapes presented to kings, including elements such as exotic beasts and landscapes, and seek out the stories behind them to rediscover our fascination with the past era and how we take up our legacy.