Photo Source: Sansationsprint 感官文化印刷
The ocean, to the artist, carries heavy weight of homesickness. Hsu Ching-Yuan was born in Houliao, Penghu, and left the house built with coral stones with his family at the age of 11 for the industrialized city of Kaohsiung. This very migration path is also shared by many people from Penghu who leave home for better career opportunities. During the 1960s and 1970s, when the “American ships” came, the Port of Kaohsiung served as the logistics base of the U.S. Navy, and the business of bars and theaters thrived around the area. At that time, the artist’s family ran a snack bar in a theater. What kept him company growing up was the movies that were repeatedly played in the theater when no one came for them.
Products made in Taiwan are exported to the world through the Port of Kaohsiung as well. After his time serving in the army, Hsu Ching-Yuan worked in the Kaohsiung Export Processing Zone, in charge of the production line of stereo systems and other consumer electronics, witnessing the life of workers in the labor-intensive industry. Later, he turned to the construction industry and started his own business. He had built houses and apartments for thousands of households in total during his 30 years of career and, with the savings from his hard work, he migrated to the United States, the wealthy and liberal country he once yearned for when younger.
However, he has eventually moved back to Taiwan. After retirement, he picks up his camera once again and leads a team of amateurs to create scene after scene for the stories of his artworks along the coast, on farmlands, or in abandoned factories. Debt Space, where this exhibition is held, used to be an iron factory. The traces from the time when it was in use can still be seen now, including large sinks, machine pedestals, chalk marks made by former workers on the walls, and the oil-stained and uneven ground. The artist transforms the space into the base of his experimental art and an exhibition hall while retaining most of the original features of the factory.
People always rely on stories to get through boring and unbearable moments and long waits, such as the men and women fleeing from plague during the Middle Ages and taking turns telling stories in the mountain, as well as the viators on their pilgrimage exchanging stories as a pastime at dinner time. In this exhibition, each art piece is a short story, combining the artist’s life experiences and his reflections on social phenomena, and can either stand on its own or provide context for one another. The stories are especially expressive and meditative during this time when both the globe and Taiwan are facing particular challenges, including the pandemic and the tension across the Taiwan Strait.
In addition to a number of new artworks, this solo exhibition also includes the artist’s collection of photographic works to be presented at the 2020 Photo London Fair, which due to the pandemic has been replaced with a digital venue. With a comparison between these photographs created during 2013 and 2018 and the other new art pieces showcased in this exhibition, the artist’s transformation in his recent creativity techniques and thoughts can be observed rhetorically.
Image Source: Hsu Jing Yuan Studio
許進源個展《海的寓言》
2020.12.19–2021.01.17 高雄，台灣
海之於藝術家是充滿鄉愁的。許進源出生在澎湖後寮，11歲時隨家人離開咕咾石砌成的家屋，搬到高雄這座工業城市定居，而這也是許多澎湖人離鄉打拼的遷徙路徑。1960-70年代「美國船入港」，高雄港作為美軍後勤基地，酒吧、戲院蓬勃發展，當時藝術家家中經營戲院販賣部，伴隨著他成長的，正是一部部在無人光顧時重複觀看的電影。
台灣製造的產品也從高雄港銷向世界各地。許進源在退伍後進入高雄加工出口區工作，管理音響等消費性電子產品的生產線，見證勞力密集的產業裡人的生存狀態。而後轉投入建築業自行創業，三十年間蓋起千戶房子，並帶著打拼的累積一度移民美國——那個年少時他曾嚮往的，富裕而自由的國度。
然而最終還是回到台灣，在退休後拾起相機，帶領素人班底投入創作，在海岸、農地或廢工廠集體築起一個個故事場景。本次展覽所在的「負債空間」過去是一間鐵工廠，現場仍見當時的痕跡，包括巨型水槽、機具台座、工廠工人在牆上用粉筆寫下的紀錄，以及充滿油漬、起伏不平的地面。藝術家在盡可能保留廠房原貌的情況下，將空間作為其實驗創作與展示的基地。
人們總是依靠一個又一個故事度過無聊、難耐與等待的時刻，比如中古世紀瘟疫蔓延時躲到山上輪流說故事的男女，抑或朝聖途中用故事打發晚餐時光的旅人。展覽中的每件作品都猶如一則短篇故事，融合了藝術家的生命經歷，以及他對社會現象的所思所想，可各自獨立又彼此互文，在這不論國際或台灣島內都處於特殊狀態的時間點——疾病蔓延、台海緊張——閱讀起來都別有意味。
本次個展除了展出藝術家多件新作，還特別呈現了一批原計參與2020倫敦攝影博覽會（Photo London）但因疫情改為線上展覽的攝影作品。藉由對照這些2013至2018年的攝影以及本次展出的作品，可觀察到藝術家近期在創作手法與思考上的演變。
Image Source: Hsu Jing Yuan Studio
Photo Source: Sansationsprint 感官文化印刷
Photo Source: Sansationsprint 感官文化印刷
封面底｜恆成紙業 / Auspic Paper 沐光紙 200g
內頁｜恆成紙業 沐光紙 120g
獨立版印刷／騎馬釘
Space Design: Su Shu-Yin | Lighting Design: Ho Chung-Chang | Steel Engineering: Yang Kuei-Te | Hydropower Engineering: Chen Shih-En, Chen Bing-An | Painting Work: Lin Lung-Yi | Carpenter Work: Li Ching-Lung, Chen Shih-Chang | Audio Visual Integration: MICHAEL ENTERPRISE CO., LTD. | Visual Design: Johnny Hu | English Translator: Chiang Yu-Ting | Exhibition Executive Support: Chen Ting-Ching, Kao Feng-Ju, Tsai Li-Tsu, Lin Tian-Ci, Huang Chih-Li, Kuo Hsiu-Ping | Curator: Lee Chia-Lin | Special Thanks to jigsaw puzzle, Yang Chen-Hao & Chen Pin-Hua
展場設計：蘇淑鶯｜燈光設計：何仲昌｜鐵件工程：楊貴德｜水電工程：陳仕恩、陳餅安｜油漆工程：林隆益｜木作工程：李慶隆、陳世章｜影音技術整合：麥可企業有限公司｜展務協力：陳庭菁、高鳳嬬、蔡麗足、林天賜、黃至理、郭秀萍｜視覺設計：Johnny Hu｜英文翻譯：江鈺婷｜策展：李佳霖｜特別感謝：桔聚創藝、臺灣永續原生內容有限公司
Thank you for watching.
謝謝！
