從歷史與文化批判意識起家的吳天章，自80年代「油畫時期」起，便以藝術作為最直白大膽的批判手段，從時代與文化的氛圍中揭示個人的身體性與政治系譜，以新表現主義留下那個時代台灣的傷痕繪畫。90年代吳天章開始了「多媒材時期」、千禧年轉為「數位影像時期」、2010年再跨入「錄像時期」，東洋風格的矯飾美學、複合媒材、數位後製技術、皮膜、一鏡到底機關重重的錄像漸次而生，堆砌出妖嬈幻異、「假假的視覺」，散發濃厚的台味。
90年後，誇張驚悚的作品語彙反串起台灣常民文化，解釋島嶼上譁眾取寵的性格與張狂的美學態度。唐突虛偽的表現手法如荒謬劇般隱涉這片土地自19世紀末歷經的政治遞嬗、民族遷徙等世代積累的集體記憶。本展展出吳天章的「陌路歸真1980 – 2011」與「別說再見2001-2015」，梳理35年來的創作生涯，並首度重現2015年他於威尼斯雙年展台灣館展出的《永協同心》(2001)、《瞎子摸巷》(2008)、《難忘的愛人》(2013)、《心所愛的人》(2013)與《再見春秋閣》(2015)五件巨型作品。
Deeply rooted in historical and cultural critique, Wu Tien-Chang’s art practice plumbs the complexities of body politics and political lineages. The 80s marked the beginning of Wu’s budding career as an artist as he engaged oils in his Neo-Expressionist painting, capturing the sociopolitical landscape of that time in the “scar painting” movement, or the art of the wounded. The 90s saw him shift toward the application of mixed media, before he segued into the realm of digital imagery in the millennium. Favoring the use of latex skin, mixed media, intricate mechanical devices, the cinematic technique of the long take, and postproduction technologies, Wu choreographed ensorcelling “fake imagery,” steeped in Oriental Mannerism and profoundly Taiwanese.
After the 90s, Wu’s dramatic, unnerving aesthetic vocabulary and Taiwan’s grassroots culture intertwined, elucidating the national character of sensationalism, as well as an inclination toward defiant aesthetics. Brusque, delusory artistic expressions articulated generations of collective memory of political turnover and ethnic migration since the late 19th century. Wu staged scenes that deviate far from reality, yet simultaneously convey a sense of truth, delineating the island’s unique historical experiences, restrained and subdued national attribute, and the human condition. This exhibition shows Wu Tien-Chang: Divergent Paths to Reality 1980–2011 and Never Say Goodbye 2001–2015. The double exhibitions chronicle Wu’s 35-year art practice, delving into his three diverse approaches to art. Besides, it’s a first-ever remounting of the Taiwan Pavilion for the 2015 Venice Biennial presents five of Wu’s seductively perplexing pieces: Work Side by Side(2001), The Blind Fumble Around an Alley (2008), Unforgettable Lover (2013),Beloved (2013), andFarewell, Spring and Autumn Pavilions (2015).
吳天章 :「陌路歸真1980 – 2011」「別說再見2001 – 2015」
Wu Tien-Chang: Divergent Paths to Reality 1980–2011 / Never Say Goodbye 2001–2015
展期 Date | 2016.06.18 – 07.31
地點 Venue | Tina Keng Gallery, TKG+（台北市內湖區瑞光路548巷15號B1樓）
Photographs courtesy TKG+