來自策展人的一封信 A Letter From the Curator
這次展覽，菲比身兼策展人與參展者兩個身分。在面對第一個身分時，我先將展覽放在一個溝通平台的位子上，一個不只有單向給予，而是有機會雙向交流的平台。試想，如果我們將自己的故事，一昧地向沒有經歷過的人訴苦，是不是可能會造成對方的誤解？但若是能透過身體感知激發反應、產生同理，是否有可以成為一種突破（心防）的好方法呢？
Hi, this is Phebea. I’m the curator of this exhibition and also one of the artists. As the curator, I started by seeing the exhibition as a communication platform, a platform that doesn’t just provide but is also open for two-way communications. Imagine, if we keep pouring our hearts out to tell others about the difficulties we’ve been through in life, maybe it would be hard for those who have not been through similar experiences to truly understand. However, if we can evoke reactions and empathy through physical connections, perhaps, this would be a good way to break through people’s internal barriers and resonate with them.
在王安琪的作品中，希望您可以試著去思考對於一個人來說「自由」的重要性。當我們無法為自己做任何決定，乃至呼吸，立命，那就無所謂合理或不合理，就如同被關在薄殼之中被操控的眼前物，最終只能落得殘敗。
身為觀眾的您，在此被賦予了操控作品的權利，體驗到被賦予權力，進行操控的愉悅。您感受到操控自己以外事物的樂趣嗎？那您是否也能感受這些薄殼物件損壞時的傷心與遺憾呢？
我們應該正視歷史，並且時刻的直視這份無法被遺忘的傷痛，傷口不論多久，依舊存在，但這個存在必須銘記，不讓遺憾有任何再發生的可能。〈你可以停止我外表，無法停止我身內的聲音〉企圖展示在集權之下個人被白化、矮化成顆粒般的存在，面對這個被決定的模樣，他們無從選擇，但在這片粉飾太平之中，相似的只有外表，每個個體的內心依然存有他們各自不同的聲音。
When seeing the artwork by Wang An-Chi try to think about why “freedom” is so important. When we are unable to make decisions for ourselves and can’t even control our own breathing or whether to live or not, reason or logic then ceases to matter. Like what you see in front of you, whatever is trapped in these thin shells is being dictated and manipulated, and a tragic ending seems inevitable.
As an audience member, you are given the power to manipulate this artwork. You are able to experience what it’s like to be in control, and perhaps, you might feel elated by the power given to you. Do you get a kick out of controlling others? And when those thin shells are cracked and broken, do you sense some sadness or hopelessness?
It is important for us to face history and truly see and not forget past trauma. No matter how long it has been, the pain still lingers, and it is something that we must always keep in mind and make sure that something so regrettable won’t happen again. You Can Stop My Appearance, But You Can't Stop the Voice in Me shows how individuals were reduced to blank, tiny granule-like beings under authoritarian rule. Those individuals had no choice, and decisions were made for them to dictate what they should look like. Underneath the whitewash peace, although everyone looked the same from the outside, each individual still held on to their own voice inside.
王淑燕以兩件陶作〈635〉與〈腦袋開花〉向前輩致敬。媒材的選擇，便是來自曹開詩作的啟發。曹開詩集《小數點之歌》別具一格地以數學詩探索了「劫數」的生存方程式，這是年輕的受難者曹開，為自己尋得精神解放的出口。
對人類學出身的王淑燕來說，陶藝是人類最久遠的一部手作日記，就連一塊出土的陶瓷碎片，也向我們展示了有一個人 曾經在時光隧道那邊 思想過陶土之用、之美。我活在今天。這裡。我見證了昨天。那裡。
即使一件完整的作品，也將成為碎片，在地裡呼喚未來的人們，因為曹開的詩歌，也因為藝術家個人在陶作中體驗到一種過去和現在之間的溝通，而有了同時性的「此曾在」的奇妙感受，因此她選擇了陶瓷創作，作為通往受難者曹開的橋梁。
我們相信「去人化」足以成為極端暴力的起點。獄中，對人的識別不是姓名、職業，而是數字——牢房的數字與編列的囚號。以「開」為名的曹開，在20歲後的50年歲月活在一片封「閉」之中。
〈635〉可以是進入「活生生」曹開的折返點。藝術家運用了曹開核心叩問的零與圓的辯證關係，將零與圓共構成大盤小盤，大盤小盤又共構成635這件作品。苦囚詩人曹開在詩作中賦予了「腦袋開花」煙火般華麗於高空，又回歸塵土的英雄身世。雖然人生是碎裂的，但還是能夠有一個完整的意義。青年曹開命運多舛，出獄後奔波於途。沉淪的年代，詩人的意義何在「就像酒神的聖教士，在無盡的長夜，行旅四野。」68歲回歸塵土的曹開，他的詩閃耀著靈魂的自由。
我像苦行僧
端坐在囚窟的暗角修行
進入無我之境
讓囚魂脫離煉獄
從鐵窗飛向雲海星河
一片白潔的雲朵
像蓮花
把我招引
我駕著它
隨風飄遊逍遙
啊！在現實的人間
我找不到一小塊棲息之地
反而在渺茫的雲河裏
找到愉快的軌跡
我勇敢地走出寂寞空虛！
The two ceramic artworks, 635 and Brain-blooming, are created by Sienna Wang to pay homage to the exhibition’s two guides. The poetry collection by Tsao Kai, Songs of the Decimal Point, shows a unique way of creating “math poems” to reflect on the mishaps in his life and the formulas he had conjured in order to survive. This was a way for Tsao Kai, a young victim at the time, to find an outlet for attaining spiritual liberation.
Sienna Wang, who was trained in anthropology, sees ceramic art as the oldest form of handicraft and a way to document life. A piece of ceramic shard that’s been unearthed can tell us that someone was there once upon a time, and she or he had thought about how to use clay and also reflected on its beauty. Being alive here and now, we can still look back at the past and see what was once there.
A complete piece of artwork might eventually be broken into fragments. Buried underneath the ground, it will call out to the people in the future. Because of Tsao Kai’s poetry, while working with clay, the artist experienced a connection that linked the past with the present, which evoked a unique sensation in her that suggested an existence that “has-been-there.” This then led to her working creatively with clay, and she made these artworks that serve as a bridge to connect us to the victim, Tsao Kai.
“Dehumanization” can lead to extreme violence. In prison, people are not identified by their names or what they do, but by numbers – each prison cell is marked by a number and so is each incarcerated person. Ironically, despite being named “Kai” (which means “to open” in Chinese), after the age of 20, Tsao Kai spent the ensuing 50 years of his life being shut off.
The number “635” marked a turning point in Tsao Kai’s life. Referencing the dialectical relationship between zero and circle which Tsao Kai explored in his poems, the artist created circular discs of various sizes, and these zeroes and circles are installed together to form this artwork, 635. While imprisoned, Tsao Kai wrote splendid poems that bloomed like flowers, and they were dazzling like fireworks, which then eventually dropped back down onto the ground. Although his life was shattered and broken, he was still able to give it a sense of complete purpose. In his younger years, Tsao Kai experienced many hardships, and after he was released from prison, life continued to be a struggle for him. In the Age of the Fallen, what purpose did a poet serve, and it was perhaps why he was “like Dionysus who wandered far and wide through endless nights.” Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, Tsao Kai passed away at the age of 68; his spirit was freed, and his poetry continues to shine.
Beyond the Shackles
Like a sadhu
I meditate in a dark prison cell
Stepping into a realm absence of self
Escaping from hell
My restrained soul soars out of the metal grilles
Toward the sky to the interstellar
Like a lotus
A pristinely white cloud
Draws me over
I hop on
Drifting freely along with the breezes
Ah, in the real world
There isn’t even a small place to dwell
But out in the river of gossamer clouds
Imprints of joy are found
Bravely, I walk out of this void that’s forlorn
您知道嗎？攝影記者就像是坐在戲院第一排看戲的人。擔任攝影記者二十餘年的鄧博仁，總是站在第一線場，取得第一手資料，因而養成他知覺的敏銳度，在他將這項特質轉至創作時，便可以看見他從客觀立場起身走向自我生命陳述的個人主場，而創作出自帶文學性與音樂性的畫面。
近年他習慣將看過的書，走過的風景，以筆記形式記錄下來。是雜記、速寫，也是影像小說，運用隨手可得的媒材描繪出對日常生活及當代社會的細微觀察，將一次次與眼前對談的結果在心內定格，速寫那份轉瞬即逝的情境，眼前所見雖然一閃而逝，看似不可逆的其實可能可逆，被影像拉至不同時空，站在風景面前感受那曾經擁有的與即將到來的，在閱讀並反芻曹開與歐陽劍華創作後，鄧博仁透過撰文、拼貼、攝影、手繪等多重技法完成畫面。他說：「照片勾勒著，一幅幅曾經存在的風景，也喚醒著過去種種的記憶」。
Photojournalists are like audiences who are in the front row of a theater. As a photojournalist with over 20 years of experience, Teng Po-Jen is always seen at the frontline and the first to get his hands on the latest news. As a result, he has developed a keen observant eye, which is applied in his creative work, where he is able to move from an objective standpoint and shift to explore his own personal subjective narrative, and the images that he creates also exude qualities that are literary and musical.
In recent years, he has been documenting the books he’s read or the sights he’s seen, and his notes and sketches feel like an illustrated novel, with everyday materials used to depict his intricate observations on everyday life and contemporary society. He interacts with what he sees and takes mental images, with the fleeting images before him then sketched down. Things might appear ephemeral, but what seems irreversible might actually be reversible, and when the images captured are pulled into different space-times, feelings of what “has been” and what’s “to come” can be experienced when standing before those images. After reading and reflecting on the works by Tsao Kai and Ou Yang Jian-Hua, Teng Po-Jen was inspired to create images by combining texts, collages, photographs, and drawings. In his own words, “Photographs depict landscapes that once existed and also awaken memories of the past.”
以文藝復興精神為念的木笛演奏家林靖偉，擅長以跳脫框架的音樂帶領閱聽眾一秒衝破此刻，在我們以為聽到的是巴洛克音樂的當下，旋即又被一陣當代即興的新奇感受所覆蓋。這次他為「我們的世界不斷在開門」創作了三件前後呼應的空間作品。
以策展預設的觀展動線而言，您首先會遇見〈招待所〉和〈接待室〉這兩件相互連動並羈絆的作品，而在您步出展場前的終曲則是第三件作品〈HIP練習室〉，這可能可以作為您經歷每件作品後的回聲，當然也是〈招待所〉與〈接待室〉延長的模進，一段乍看結束，實則持續傳送的樂章。
〈招待所〉是一個全黑的空間，在與〈接待室〉連通的共用牆上開了兩個洞，〈接待室〉是一個全白、被緩衝氣泡包材包起來的空間，模擬獄中作為隔離之用的「獨居房」。綠島綠洲山莊內的獨居房大小與家用對開衣櫃尺寸相仿，內部（上下左右前後，含門）都舖設一層厚厚的軟墊。軟墊可以隔音之外，也用來防止關押者自殘，但這樣柔軟的空間反倒引人發狂，關押在內的他聽不見別人，別人也聽不見他，但他卻渴望 被聽見 與 可以聽見。
在〈接待室〉中也是如此。封閉柔軟的空間內僅在一面牆上開了兩扇中式卷宗大小的監視窗口，空間內有一座被打開的直立式鋼琴，展期間每個月會有一天邀請音樂家進入〈接待室〉演奏樂曲，被人為損壞的鋼琴，以及緩衝材帶來的身體不適，都將影響音樂家對於樂曲的詮釋，您將在此聽見盡力保持完整，抑或無可避免被殘害的樂句。
無數的Ｏ
不是千瘡萬孔
它們是許多
啟悟的烙印
把無數的Ｏ
串製成一隻奇妙的神笛
將吹奏出
圓舞的交響曲
無數的「圓」舞曲
Echoing the spirit of the Renaissance, recorder player Lin Ching-Wei specializes in unconventional music that takes the audience on a spectacular journey, and what sounds like Baroque music might swiftly turn into unexpected contemporary improvisational sounds. On view in this exhibition, Keep Opening Doors, are three spatial artworks by Lin that are interconnected.
Following the exhibition’s curated direction, you will first see the two interactively connected artworks, évanescence and l’irrémissibilité. Before you exit the exhibition space, you will see the third artwork by Lin, Historically Informed Performance Practice Room, which is where you can reflect on all of the artworks that you’ve just seen, and it is also an extension of évanescence and l’irrémissibilité. It might seem like the conclusion, but it is actually where the music continues to be passed on.
évanescence is presented in a dark room, and two openings are seen on the wall between this artwork and l’irrémissibilité. l’irrémissibilité, on the other hand, is a room that is white and covered in bubble wrap. It is a simulation of the “solitary confinement room” in prisons. Inside the “Oasis Villa,” a former prison on the Green Island of Taiwan, the solitary rooms are about the size of a typical closet, and the four sides of each room and the doors are all covered with thick soft paddings. In addition to being soundproof, the paddings were also installed to prevent the inmates from hurting themselves. However, such a soft space can drive a person insane. Locked inside, the imprisoned could not hear others, nor could others hear them, but those being confined still yearned to be heard and wanted to be able to listen.
l’irrémissibilité is the same way. The softly cushioned and enclosed space has only two folder-sized openings on the wall where one can look in and monitor what’s going on inside. Inside the room is an upright piano that’s been opened up. A music performance is to be held inside l’irrémissibilité once a month during the exhibition. The piano that has been damaged by someone and the physical discomfort experienced from being inside a padded room might have an impact on the musicians, and performing in this room, they will likely try their hardest to preserve the integrity of the music that they are playing, but maybe it would be impossible for some parts of the music to come unscathed.
The Divine Flute
The countless Ｏs
Not riddled with holes
But are numerous
Marks of enlightenment
Take the countless Ｏs
String them together to make a divine flute
To play
A rolling symphony of waltz
A song of dance with countless circular rolls
〈門內有詩人〉這件作品中有七道需要跨過的檻。但這並非要求觀眾進行跨爐儀式之類的行為，而是讓你的身體一道一道地去經歷那些門。我認為「門」好像結界，過門之後我們就可以進入另一個世界。另一方面來說，門也好像是一個框框。一個把東西打包，收攏在另一處的框。
在〈門內有詩人〉作品中，某些門是來自曹開前輩詩句的符號，某些門是名符其實的「門」字門，此外，還有一道是曹開前輩留給我們的叩心門。你在門裡看到了什麼？你在門裡看不到什麼？
曹開在〈思想之拱門〉說道「只有爬過黑暗的隧道，見到蒼穹，你才能體會，由零通到圓的內涵」在最後的那面鏡子裡，您是否能看見映在您心間的什麼？
但若當下你還無法感受到什麼也沒關係，因為那門是窄的，路是小的，找著的人也少，終有一天，你會找到你心內的那扇門。
The artwork, There is a Poet Behind the Doors, consists of 7 doors that need to be crossed. Different from the traditional Taiwanese fire-crossing ritual that’s supposed to ward off disasters and bad luck, the intention of these doors is to invite the audience to physically pass through them, one by one. I see “doors” as a kind of intermediary space between different worlds, and we can enter into another world when we walk through a door. On the other hand, I also see each door as a frame or a box, where things can be kept and stored away on the other side.
Some of the doors in There is a Poet Behind the Doors are based on symbols found in Tsao Kai’s poems, and some of the doors are in the shape of the Chinese character, 門 (mén), which means “door” or “doors.” Also included is a door that Tsao Kai has left for us. This door knocks on people’s hearts. What do you see inside of this door? And what don’t you see?
In the poem “Archway of Thought” by Tsao Kai, he wrote, “Only after crawling through a dark tunnel then seeing the sky would you understand the significance of going from Zero to Circle.” This artwork leads to a mirror. By looking at the mirror, do you see a reflection of what’s inside of your heart?
If you don’t have any specific thoughts or feelings at this particular moment, that’s okay. We don’t always find our way, because the door we see might be too small, or the path before us might be too narrow. But one day, I’m sure you will find a door that will lead to the innermost part of your heart.
在您手腳並用地經過〈門內有詩人〉的第七道門，一道與押房房門尺寸相仿的門之後，歐陽劍華的刑求畫系列將充滿您的視野。
一九五೦年代的社會氛圍只要稍有嫌疑，便會被捕入獄，遭受特務以這些殘忍的刑法逼供，造成那個年代有成千上萬無辜良民冤死刑場，或把青春葬送在牢裡，而那些被刑求但有幸不死的人，出獄後全身疼痛，直到死亡之日，或終身殘疾，還在世劫後餘生的難友，對當年的慘遇仍然詳記，歐陽劍華，我都記得，盼望您也記得。
After you’ve walked and crawled through the 7th door of There is a Poet Behind the Doors, which is the same size as the door of the prison’s detention room, you will then see a series of paintings by Ou Yang Jian-Hua depicting scenes of interrogational torture.
Anyone who was slightly suspicious of anything in the 1950s in Taiwan was arrested and subjected to brutal interrogational torture carried out by secret agents to force the person to confess. This resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands of innocent people, and many also wasted their youthful years in prison. Those who were fortunate enough to escape death and were later released suffered from chronic pain till the day they passed away, and some had permanent disabilities. What happened inside stayed with those survivors, and Ou Yang Jian-Hua kept those tragedies close to his heart. I hope all of us will also never forget.
曹開自問：為甚麼我要運用數學的邏輯指令，把這個世界因式分解呢？
忽庸少見多怪，我當然有我的公式，若是寫出其逆定立的緣由來，也許不太令人高興。我自責我的個性有點愛訕諷，不過，我要為此生求得達觀，我想越開明越傾向於用幽默的方程式來代替謾罵，雖然這訕笑過後，對世事的爛帳，更難一筆勾消。
Tsao Kai asked hinself "Why do I use logical operators of mathematics to factorize this world? "Perhaps things seldom seen are strange, but I certainly do have my formulas, and some may feel displeased if they read about my reasons for my unconventional position. I apologize for my slightly sardonic personality, but I do want to be optimistic about this life. The more open-minded I wish to be, the more I tend to use humorous equations instead of insulting and abusive language. However, after the mocking snickers, it becomes even harder to cancel out all the mess in the world.
王宗仁在《白色煉獄─曹開新詩研究》中統計曹開共約創作1,433首詩，數學詩約278首，獄中詩約396首，醫事詩約104首，科技詩約249首。在獄中，曹開除了研讀數學之外，對於醫學也抱持相當興趣，時常請教醫師獄友，就此打下醫學基礎，並在出獄後成為一項謀生技能。「心．臟」系列是一顆顆破碎／不全的心，在藝術家手中被縫補修補。正如曹開在〈外科醫生〉所說：
在為他縫合痊癒的痛痕中
有我生命安放的琴弦呵
在他脈動的節拍裡
我的心將震顫舞跳
跟他健康的絃音微笑融合
在感性的認知中「心」是承載人類情感的容器，將心形符號轉向、重組，使之跨越身體界線，自體內走出體外，在隱匿與顯露之間 所探望的是 未曾暴露 亟欲隱藏的情感？抑或是需要您我細心呵護的那個器官呢？
According to the book, White Purgatory - A Study of Tsao Kai’s New Poetry, by Wang Tzung-Ren, Tsao Kai wrote about 1,433 poems, which included 279 math poems, 396 poems about being in prison, 104 poems about medical matters, and 249 poems about technology. While in prison, in addition to studying mathematics, Tsao Kai was also very interested in medical science and often engaged in discussions with another inmate who was a doctor. This led to him acquiring some medical knowledge, which he even applied later in life after his release. The artwork Mon Coeur presents many broken hearts that have been stitched and mended by the artist. In the poem, “Surgeon,” Tsao Kai wrote:
In his healed wounds which I’ve stitched
Are strings that I’ve carefully placed
with my life on the line
Along with his pulsating beats
My heart shall tremor and dance
Harmonizing with a smile
To the chords of his good health
The heart is sentimentally seen as a carrier of human emotions, and as the heart-shaped symbol is shifted and reconstructed, these hearts are taken outside of the boundary of the body and transported from the inside of the body to the outside. From being concealed to being exposed, what’s being explored is perhaps certain emotions that have never been uncovered and feelings that people desperately want to keep hidden inside. Perhaps, the artwork also brings focus to this particular organ, which we should pay closer attention to and take good care of.
林靖偉創作的〈HIP練習室〉是一處全藍的密閉空間，樂譜上有曹開的詩句與貝多芬第九號交響曲《自由頌》。
你要10
可自15 - 5而得
亦可從7 + 3來取
當也能由2 x 5而獲
何必一定要20 / 2
看！數字在微笑
1 2 3 4 ……
在唱藝術歌曲
7712 2176 5567 766
7712 2176 5567 655
6675 67175 67176 562
7712 2176 5577 6 55
乍看作品名稱中的HIP，可能您會感到時髦，也或許讓您想起為演藝事業奮力訓練的練習生？
但是〈HIP練習室〉乃是Historically Informed Performance Practice Room（歷史性已知的表演練習室）的縮寫。靖偉所鍛接的歷史事件，首先是上個世紀初期，當時在德國興起一股「青年復興運動」期望透過音樂帶領年輕人逃離城市腐敗，重新建立他們的價值觀與身份認同，而直笛便成了這場運動的重要角色。此後希特勒勢力崛起，順勢接收這股青年團的力量，直笛也因此成為推廣納粹思想的全民樂器。
視線拉回我們所在的這塊土地，1993年，中華民國教育部將直笛作為中、小學生學習音樂的入門樂器。在台灣解嚴後近半世紀以來，成為您我的共通記憶，在此藝術家使其化為中性媒介。在知曉歷史脈絡之後的我們又將如何選擇？在這充滿娛樂的社會我們的選擇是否讓他者消逝？過去異議者慘烈消逝於極權父權之中，那麼當代他者的消逝是否卻是殞身於一場喧囂又無聲，令人甘願臣服的集體娛樂質地呢？
在這趟開門之旅中林靖偉重新思考符號、轉譯，以兩種樂器分別代表兩個不同的時代──鋼琴代表白恐前輩；直笛代表年輕世代。〈接待室〉中的鋼琴是承載受難的樂器。〈HIP練習室〉中的直笛則是代表新的世代。
Historically Informed Performance Practice Room by Lin Ching-Wei. Inside this enclosed blue room is the sheet music of Beethoven’s Symphony No.9 (Ode to Freedom) and also Tsao Kai’s poetry.
If you want to get 10
You can get it from 15－5
Or from 7＋3
And also 2 × 5
Why must you get it by doing 20 ÷ 2?
Look, the numbers are smiling
1234…
Singing a song of art
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Upon seeing the acronym “HIP,” you might think it has to do with something trendy or is pop music-related. In this case, “HIP” stands for “Historically Informed Performance” and with this artwork, Historically Informed Performance Practice Room, the artist Lin Ching-Wei references the historical event, “The German Youth Movement,” which took place in the early part of the last century. The intention of the movement was to lead young people away from corrupted cities through the use of music and for the young people to establish their own values and identity. The recorder played a critical part in the movement. However, after Hitler’s rise to power, many of the youth groups were eventually absorbed into the Nazi party, and the recorder became an important musical instrument for the promotion of the Nazi ideology.
Let us now shift our focus back to Taiwan. In 1993, the Ministry of Education of the Republic of China made the recorder an introductory instrument in the music curriculum taught at elementary and middle schools. Nearly half a century after martial law was lifted in Taiwan, the recorder has become a part of Taiwanese people’s communal memory, and here the artist has turned it into a neutral medium.
What choices should we make after learning about the history behind this? In a world full of different forms of entertainment, would the choices we make lead to the demise of the Other? While the dissidents of the past died a tragic death under totalitarian patriarchy, is it possible that the demise of the contemporary Other is the result of deafening but silent and also willingly submissive forms of mass entertainment?
In this journey where we keep opening doors, symbols and acts of translation are reconsidered by Lin, and he uses two instruments to represent two different eras: the piano for those who were alive during the White Terror era, and the recorder for the youth generation. The piano in l’irrémissibilité is treated as an instrument that takes in suffering, and the recorder in the Historically Informed Performance Practice Room points toward a new generation.