Welcome to Our Place

Introduction of “Welcome to Our Place”:  

Throughout the second half of the 20th century, European countries and the US have been impacted by theories of the “Educational Turn” and started reflecting on the rights of usage and discourse of museum spaces. The usage of these spaces as locations for public gatherings and discussions on de-colonization have contributed to equality between non-western and western discourses, as well as the balancing between power and rights.

In recent years, the concept of cultural diversity and inclusivity has slowly moved from the streets and into the field of arts. Audio guides, non-visual experiences, accessibility services, and other setups have reflected contemporary society’s yearning to adapt to new values; to some extent, art has provided alternative viewpoints of interpreting the ever-shifting structure of society and culture.

Audio descriptions have transformed the act of viewing into a non-singular sensation, while accessible slopes have expanded the possibility of movement, allowing people with different physical conditions to share life experiences. Through the workshop, Ko Yu-Hsiu invites participants who are visually impaired and those who are not to listen to the audio descriptions of images and to materialize their experience into paintings, encouraging participants to examine the blind spots of the design. Using images and literature from field investigations, Hsueh Tzu-Chieh delves into the physical existence of accessible facilities and the non-physical states of its users through images and literature gathered from fieldwork to spotlight the possibilities and limitations of assistive devices.

Existence in the form of fluid sensations, fluid consciousness and states, identity, or residence inspires discussions on existing ideas in the collective consciousness. With his own experience as the inspiration, Yerlikaya Keng-Wug endeavours to understand intercultural conflict through drama workshops and dissects the sense and understanding of identity among migrant workers through photography. Liao Yun-Jie bases her work on the map of the larger Taipei area and traces the image formed with different patterns, using a two-way method of working with words to explore the essence and blueprint of living rights and land use.

This exhibition once again invites artists of the 2021 Cultural Diversity and Inclusivity Residency Programme — Yerlikaya Keng-Wug, Ko Yu-Hsiu, Liao Yun-Jie, and Hsueh Tzu-Chieh to share their reflections and hopes for the society of Taiwan and the stories of the public in the form of workshops, fieldwork, and research.

Introduction of Yunjie Liao’s work:

In the 2021 group exhibition “From Now On “, Liao Yunjie used video installations, luggage and memories exchanged with people in the state of fluidity, to inquire about the meaning home for each other, and the possibility or inability to truly understand each other. The process had provoked different viewers sharing their own experiences with people in the state of fluidity. In the exhibition of this time, she continues to narrate a living state “on the road”, to discuss about the fluidity of “home”, weaving the similarity between the other and the self. It also reflects the difficult situation of human being torn between the delusion of escape, pursuit and a shelter.

The images of people in the state of fluidity are not only local, but also global. Their appearances across classes, ethnic groups, and genders are quite diverse. What many people in the states of fluidity need most is not pity and materials, but understanding and acceptance of their choices. “Don’t rely on others, we rely on ourselves” is the most common declaration that the artist has heard when interacting with them for many years. Their persistence in refusing to stop migrating, their life stories of love and hate, and their wisdoms of survival also deeply resonated with the artist. When private space has become a luxury, why is “terminating” the fluid state still regarded as the most correct accolade, as if admiring the necessity of the material form of “home”? Can we explore more about the various emotional forms of “home” when fluidity has become a common state, and consider the necessity for mutual assistance?

A piece of land carries the ruptures of resources, landscapes, and dreams of countless people; the individuals who migrate in it can only regain their dignity as a human when their subjectivity of choice is recognized, rather than being continuously grieved, pathologized, defamiliarized and problematized. And the best communication between human and human, in the artist’s life experience, is to live together.

「众所之地」展覽介紹：

歡迎蒞臨，众所之地。

回溯到20世紀後半，歐美受到「教育轉型(Educational turn)」理論影響，開啟博物館與美術館空間使用權與話語權的反思，強調了作為眾人所聚集之場域的公眾性，而「去殖民化(de-colonization)」的討論，鋪展出非西方與西方、權力與權利的平等對話。

近年來，台灣文化平權的概念漸漸從社會街頭走進藝術領域中，語音導覽、非視覺體驗、無障礙服務等的設置，呼應著當代社會適應新興價值觀的渴求與行動，而藝術某種程度上，亦提供多重視角來解讀不斷更迭的社會文化與結構。

口述影像將視覺換成非單一感官的語彙，無障礙斜坡拓展了行走的可能，試圖讓不同身心狀態的群體共享生活體驗。柯瑜綉透過工作坊，邀請視障與非視障者聆聽口述影像，以繪畫重現聽覺感受，思考在通用設計中存在的盲點；薛祖杰則以田野調查的影像與文獻資料，去理解無障礙設施的有形存在與使用者的無形狀態，反映出輔具的可能性與侷限性。

流動的感官，流動的意識與狀態，身分或居所作為存在的一種形式，挑起集體意識在既有認知上的論辯。林耕舞從自身經驗出發，舉辦戲劇工作坊嘗試理解跨文化的衝突，利用攝影手法剖析移工者們的自我認同，以及對於身分定義的理解；廖芸婕從大台北地圖出發，依循不同紋理交織出的樣貌，透過雙向的文字工作，探索關於居住權與土地使用的本質及藍圖。

本檔展覽再度邀請「2021年文化平權駐村計畫」藝術家林耕舞、柯瑜綉、廖芸婕與薛祖杰，藉由不同面向的工作坊、田野調查與研究，匯集群眾的經驗故事，對於當前的台灣社會提出反思與期盼。

廖芸婕作品介紹：

2021年文化平權駐村聯展「從此，以後」中，廖芸婕以錄像裝置、與流動之人交換的行囊與回憶，叩問彼此家的意義，及真正相互理解的可能或無能。這段過程，衍生了不同觀者分享、討論自身與流動者互動的經驗。此次展覽繼續以在路上（on the road）為軸，試圖討論「家」的流動狀態，編織他者與自身之相似性，並反觀裡外不是人的狀態下，同時存在逃避、追尋與對棲身之地的妄想。

流動者的圖像除了是本土的，亦是全球的，其跨階層、族群、性別的樣貌相當多元。許多流動者最需要的並非憐憫及物質，而是其選擇的被了解與被接納。「不要靠別人，我們靠自己」是藝術家長年來與流動者互動時最常聽見的一種宣言，其拒絕停止流動的堅持、有愛有恨的生命故事及生存智慧亦使她深刻共鳴。當封閉空間已成奢侈品，為何「終結」流動狀態依然被視為最正確的歌頌，彷彿歌頌「家」之物質型態的必須？我們能否更多地探索當「家」已成流動常態裡的各種情感形態，並思索互助之必須？

一塊土地，承載著無數人在資源、地理與夢想間的斷裂；流動其中的個體，唯有當選擇的主體性被正視，而非持續遭悲情化、病理化、陌生化、問題化，方得以重獲「人」的尊嚴。而人與人之間最好的交流，在藝術家的生命經驗裡，就是住在一起。