Taiwanese artist Yahon Chang’s "Poetry of the Flow” converts the monumental space of the Sala delle Armi in Palazzo Chiaramonte-Steri into an interactive environment, tackling philosophical, spiritual, and existential issues that revolve around the contemporary human condition. The site-specific installation will be on view from June 17 through August 19, 2018 at Manifesta 12, Palermo.The artist applies Chinese ink painting techniques and shows multiple large-scale ink paintings that cover the entirety of the exhibition space that surround the viewer. "Over the last 2,000 years, Palermo has been occupied by numerous European countries and has long-term connections with North Africa and the Eastern Mediterranean. The artist draws inspiration from the social context of the city which hosts Manifesta 12, with its lavish historical, syncretic and cultural values,” stated Manifesta 12. "Ink painting and calligraphy have been an integral part of Chinese literati culture for thousands of years. Chang uses these classical techniques and aesthetics to create a new language that is relevant to a contemporary society. Rather than focussing on the process of creation, the artist works similarly to the western art movement Expressionism whereby the artworks are expressive of the artist’s inner feelings or ideas.”The artist integrates local materials through painting on bedsheets acquired in Palermo, which are hung in the outdoor garden of his studio. It also reflects the urban landscape within the city, where citizens hang their laundry on balconies in abundance. There is a drastic combination of the large-scale Chinese ink paintings and paintings on locally sourced bedsheets comments on the layering of histories that have saturated the city for thousands of years. Through these mediums the artist creates a bridge between his own culture and the multicultural Palermo.Yahon Chang (b. 1948) lives and works in Taipei, Taiwan and has shown in numerous international solo and group exhibitions including the recent solo show “The Question of Beings” at MACRO in Rome (2016) and the 56th International Art Exhibition la Biennale di Venezia (2015). He was brought up in post-Japanese-colonial Taiwan and his works portray a particular visual language that voices the agony, rejection, struggle, adversity, acceptance, and love as well as his quest to find a higher spirituality and peace.
↧