HA.HA. THE NATIVITY OF SIDRA: CHANG Chia-Ying
03 Dec 2020-17 Jan 2021
Information

❥12.05 Sat
Opening 16:30
Lecture 15:00-16:30
Jo HSIAO ╳ CHANG Chia-Ying

 

❥12.27 Sun
Artist Talk 15:00

Overview

Putting on a Pink Tweed Ritual Cloak – HA.HA. THE NATIVITY OF SIDRA: CHANG Chia-Ying

 

The bizarre, baffling 21st century has revealed a diversely ever-changing world that requires much more examination and analysis. The intertwining, complicated situations demand fresh ways of interpretation and exploration; for instance, the rise of new religions have called out attention to the absurdities in this contemporary era. It is under such circumstances and through Chang Chia-Ying’s attempt to reveal the undetected states of the human subconscious that the religion of “HA.HA.” was born.

 

The name “Sidra” in the exhibition title refers to a character that Chang has created: its large apple-shaped head and image are connected to its name and bring to mind the popular, tasty soft drink. It appears in different works, with its head being bitten off a piece or with tears or saliva streaming down its face. The affectionate statement between lovers, “You are the apple of the eye,” originates from the Bible to express one’s cherishing of beloved persons or objects. The idiom, derived from the resembling shapes of the pupil and apples, conveys a reality that those who are obsessed only see what they want to believe – that is, those who devoutly embrace religious doctrines believe that the salvation will eventually be theirs.

 

Chang uses her individual linguistic system to embed a series of hints and clues in hand-written scrolls and manuscript fragments displayed in the cabinet, performing an invocation ritual through a pseudo-antique style and telling the history of people warring for the Aura stone. With broken logic, the story is enshrouded in a mixed look comprising medieval and contemporary elements, signaling history’s recursive path in the development of human civilization. Chang’s fantasy world, which seemingly departs from reality, implicitly reflects the collective subconscious. The protagonists depicting in these portrait-like paintings do not seem to mind the fighting goblins and demons in the background. What remains unchanged in these paintings is the look in their eyes – a detached gaze into an emptiness and penetrates the minds of the viewing, baffled spectators, inviting their personal observations and readings. We are also reminded of Hieronymus Bosch’s earthly delightful garden and Pieter Bruegel the Elder’s proverbial metaphors; the shadowing ambiguity is metaphorically charged – this creepy world brimming with signifiers awaits spectators to fill in their own interpretations.

 

In between reality and dreams, Chang puts on a pink tweed ritual cloak and silently evokes the surging undercurrents of absurdities in a prismatic crystal ball before her, exposing the ever-present subconscious.

 

Sweet-looking on the outside and wise, sophisticated on the inside, the founder of “HA.HA.” has arrived. As she reveals herself to the world, she prays for the awakening of all.

 

Artwork
Video
Art Emperor|CHANG Chia-Ying|HA.HA. THE NATIVITY OF SIDRA
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