Untitled II
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I decided to enter the wonder of the drawing world when I was fifteen, and was determined to be a professional art picture book maker when I was seventeen. The unveiling of this this journey full of challenges and wonders began between 2005 and 2007 when I had several precious opportunities to undertake artist-in-residence programs in Taiwan and overseas. By immersing myself in such experiences, interacting with people from different cultures and through the process of observation, it has become the source of inspiration and motivation for my creativity.
During my residencies at the Taipei Artist Village (2005), Central TAFE Perth, Western Australia (2006), and ARCUS in Japan (2006), I opened up my studio to interact with the public every day. In my process, whether it is drawing a large mural, or a long Chinese scroll (25 meters long), I always use my intuition and without preliminary sketches, to allow for improvisation when working on a drawing. These works formed part of the “Black and White Untitled Series.” I also conducted children’s workshops by taking them to collect objects from their everyday surroundings. This face to face working process gave me the opportunity to listen to other people’s stories and understand their way of life. It also provided me with various opportunities to visit their families and discover nature in different parts of the world. Through this experience, I have come to comprehend that the essence of abstract art is that it has no boundaries between nations, cultures, generations, languages, ages, races, hierarchies, genders, or religions. I have very strong and deep feelings echoing inside me which makes me think that the Earth is like a home in the universe. This journey of searching for my inner-self, has helped me to return to the essence of making art picture books, found in the “Black and White Wordless Picture Book: Imagination, Dreams, and The Universe”.
With the Black-and-White Untitled series and the Black-and-White Wordless Series, I communicated with people from different countries and interacted with people of various ages, including children, the elderly, people with Asperger's Syndrome and the visually impaired. By observing how the readers read, I came to realize how people perceived the world from different perspectives and how they developed their individuality based on their various life experiences, growing environments, backgrounds and cultures. In the process of exploring myself, I also came to understand how important empathy is.
From these observations and experiences, I discovered that for young children, this kind of innocent curiosity, intuitive sensibility, free imaginative association and creativity when responding to the abstract drawings, is the origin of our human spirit and should be respected and encouraged. This kind of “child-like spirit” is reflected in their conception of life; especially for babies and young children, as they often react to their surroundings without logic and respond to it unexpectedly, and they are obsessed with where their passion lies and persist for it, as if they were the “prototype” of an artist.
All these ‘nutrients’ acquired during artist residencies motivated and prompted me to create a series of abstract and wordless picture books: The Red, Le Visiteur, The Mushrooms, The Secrets, and The Little Tailor between 2009 to 2017. I hope these art picture books enable children as well as adults to preserve their autonomy and imagination, develop their independent thinking and self-exploration. I also want people to interpret these books based on their life experiences. There is no age limit, nor standard answers provided by engaging with these books. It is more like looking into a mirror, exploring and understanding our inner selves. Our imagination, originality and self-interpretation are triggered, confidence and faith will be found, and our innate nature will be passed on, so that we are able to head for the chaotic and unknown future. Since 2018, I have been working on the interactive “Playful Books”.
自十五歲深入探索繪畫領域，而在十七歲時，想成為一位專業的藝術繪本創作者，而開啟這段充滿奇異與挑戰的創作旅程，應該說始於 2005 至 2007 年期間，透過幾次難能可貴的國、內外駐村創作機會，在與不同文化的人與環境的互動及觀察過程，形塑了我創作的靈感與動力來源。
透過台北國際藝術村 (2005)、西澳大利亞伯斯 (2005)、日本 ARCUS (2006) 的駐村計劃創作期間，我在工作室現場創作，並開放讓民眾觀賞互動與交流。在這過程之中，無論是在大型牆面、捲軸 (25公尺長)，我皆是以「直覺」、不打草圖的即興方式來進行我的繪畫創作，這段期間的作品，我將它視為「黑白無題系列」。在嘉義縣北回歸線環境藝術行動 (2007)，也帶領兒童撿拾現下環境媒材的工作坊。這種與觀眾直接面對面的創作過程，讓我自然而然地有機會聆聽他人的生命故事，也拜訪了許多家庭，了解他們的生活和探索當地的自然環境。在經歷這段旅程後，我理解到「抽象」繪畫的本質，並沒有國界、文化、世代、語言、年齡、種族、階級、性別、宗教⋯等隔閡。我內在有著深刻的感受不斷迴旋，使我腦海裡浮現了，地球就像一個家的宇宙觀想。而這個內在自我探索旅程，也幫助我回歸藝術繪本創作的本質，進而創作了「黑白無字書系列：想像、夢、宇宙」。
藉由「黑白無題系列」駐村創作計劃、以及帶著「黑白無字書系列：想像、夢、宇宙」與不同國家的民眾交流，於各年齡層的人互動中，包含幼兒、老年人、亞斯伯格症和視障者等，觀察讀者的閱讀方式。藉此體會每個人的生命經驗與成長環境、文化背景都不相同，感知世界的方式與角度也會有所不同，各有著自己的獨特性。在自我探索的過程裡，我也理解了「同理心」的重要性。
透過觀察，發現幼兒與學齡兒童在閱讀抽象繪畫時，那種純真的好奇心、直覺式的感知能力、自由的想像力、聯想力和創造力，更是需要被尊重與延續的人類精神源頭。這樣的「兒童精神」體現在他們的生活之中，尤其是嬰幼兒，他們具有實驗性精神、破壞邏輯常規、不按牌理出牌，對於熱愛的事物有著很深的執念與堅持，猶如藝術家最初的「原型」。
因此動機，促使我在 2009 至 2017 年間，獨立創作「抽象無字繪本系列：紅、訪客、蘑菇、秘密、小裁縫」，希望這系列的藝術繪本作品，提供兒童、成人在閱讀過程中，保有自主性、想像力、獨立思考與自我探索的可能性，能用自己的生命經驗去詮釋作品。這樣的閱讀無年齡限制，沒有標準答案，如同鏡子般探究自己的內心，了解自己，在閱讀的過程中開啟想像力、創造力與自我詮釋的能力，並尋找到自信與信心，延續人類最初的精神源頭，面向混沌未知的世界。並在 2018 年起持續獨立進行「遊戲書」的藝術書創作計劃。
Creative Context
I decided to enter the wonder of the drawing world when I was fifteen, and was determined to be a professional art picture book maker when I was seventeen. The unveiling of this this journey full of challenges and wonders began between 2005 and 2007 when I had several precious opportunities to undertake artist-in-residence programs in Taiwan and overseas. By immersing myself in such experiences, interacting with people from different cultures and through the process of observation, it has become the source of inspiration and motivation for my creativity.During my residencies at the Taipei Artist Village (2005), Central TAFE Perth, Western Australia (2006), and ARCUS in Japan (2006), I opened up my studio to interact with the public every day. In my process, whether it is drawing a large mural, or a long Chinese scroll (25 meters long), I always use my intuition and without preliminary sketches, to allow for improvisation when working on a drawing. These works formed part of the “Black and White Untitled Series.” I also conducted children’s workshops by taking them to collect objects from their everyday surroundings. This face to face working process gave me the opportunity to listen to other people’s stories and understand their way of life. It also provided me with various opportunities to visit their families and discover nature in different parts of the world. Through this experience, I have come to comprehend that the essence of abstract art is that it has no boundaries between nations, cultures, generations, languages, ages, races, hierarchies, genders, or religions. I have very strong and deep feelings echoing inside me which makes me think that the Earth is like a home in the universe. This journey of searching for my inner-self, has helped me to return to the essence of making art picture books, found in the “Black and White Wordless Picture Book: Imagination, Dreams, and The Universe”.
With the Black-and-White Untitled series and the Black-and-White Wordless Series, I communicated with people from different countries and interacted with people of various ages, including children, the elderly, people with Asperger's Syndrome and the visually impaired. By observing how the readers read, I came to realize how people perceived the world from different perspectives and how they developed their individuality based on their various life experiences, growing environments, backgrounds and cultures. In the process of exploring myself, I also came to understand how important empathy is.
From these observations and experiences, I discovered that for young children, this kind of innocent curiosity, intuitive sensibility, free imaginative association and creativity when responding to the abstract drawings, is the origin of our human spirit and should be respected and encouraged. This kind of “child-like spirit” is reflected in their conception of life; especially for babies and young children, as they often react to their surroundings without logic and respond to it unexpectedly, and they are obsessed with where their passion lies and persist for it, as if they were the “prototype” of an artist.
All these ‘nutrients’ acquired during artist residencies motivated and prompted me to create a series of abstract and wordless picture books: The Red, Le Visiteur, The Mushrooms, The Secrets, and The Little Tailor between 2009 to 2017. I hope these art picture books enable children as well as adults to preserve their autonomy and imagination, develop their independent thinking and self-exploration. I also want people to interpret these books based on their life experiences. There is no age limit, nor standard answers provided by engaging with these books. It is more like looking into a mirror, exploring and understanding our inner selves. Our imagination, originality and self-interpretation are triggered, confidence and faith will be found, and our innate nature will be passed on, so that we are able to head for the chaotic and unknown future. Since 2018, I have been working on the interactive “Playful Books”.
創作脈絡
自十五歲深入探索繪畫領域，而在十七歲時，想成為一位專業的藝術繪本創作者，而開啟這段充滿奇異與挑戰的創作旅程，應該說始於 2005 至 2007 年期間，透過幾次難能可貴的國、內外駐村創作機會，在與不同文化的人與環境的互動及觀察過程，形塑了我創作的靈感與動力來源。透過台北國際藝術村 (2005)、西澳大利亞伯斯 (2005)、日本 ARCUS (2006) 的駐村計劃創作期間，我在工作室現場創作，並開放讓民眾觀賞互動與交流。在這過程之中，無論是在大型牆面、捲軸 (25公尺長)，我皆是以「直覺」、不打草圖的即興方式來進行我的繪畫創作，這段期間的作品，我將它視為「黑白無題系列」。在嘉義縣北回歸線環境藝術行動 (2007)，也帶領兒童撿拾現下環境媒材的工作坊。這種與觀眾直接面對面的創作過程，讓我自然而然地有機會聆聽他人的生命故事，也拜訪了許多家庭，了解他們的生活和探索當地的自然環境。在經歷這段旅程後，我理解到「抽象」繪畫的本質，並沒有國界、文化、世代、語言、年齡、種族、階級、性別、宗教⋯等隔閡。我內在有著深刻的感受不斷迴旋，使我腦海裡浮現了，地球就像一個家的宇宙觀想。而這個內在自我探索旅程，也幫助我回歸藝術繪本創作的本質，進而創作了「黑白無字書系列：想像、夢、宇宙」。
藉由「黑白無題系列」駐村創作計劃、以及帶著「黑白無字書系列：想像、夢、宇宙」與不同國家的民眾交流，於各年齡層的人互動中，包含幼兒、老年人、亞斯伯格症和視障者等，觀察讀者的閱讀方式。藉此體會每個人的生命經驗與成長環境、文化背景都不相同，感知世界的方式與角度也會有所不同，各有著自己的獨特性。在自我探索的過程裡，我也理解了「同理心」的重要性。
透過觀察，發現幼兒與學齡兒童在閱讀抽象繪畫時，那種純真的好奇心、直覺式的感知能力、自由的想像力、聯想力和創造力，更是需要被尊重與延續的人類精神源頭。這樣的「兒童精神」體現在他們的生活之中，尤其是嬰幼兒，他們具有實驗性精神、破壞邏輯常規、不按牌理出牌，對於熱愛的事物有著很深的執念與堅持，猶如藝術家最初的「原型」。
因此動機，促使我在 2009 至 2017 年間，獨立創作「抽象無字繪本系列：紅、訪客、蘑菇、秘密、小裁縫」，希望這系列的藝術繪本作品，提供兒童、成人在閱讀過程中，保有自主性、想像力、獨立思考與自我探索的可能性，能用自己的生命經驗去詮釋作品。這樣的閱讀無年齡限制，沒有標準答案，如同鏡子般探究自己的內心，了解自己，在閱讀的過程中開啟想像力、創造力與自我詮釋的能力，並尋找到自信與信心，延續人類最初的精神源頭，面向混沌未知的世界。並在 2018 年起持續獨立進行「遊戲書」的藝術書創作計劃。