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2017 | Outdoor Installation & Workshops | Guandu International Nature Art Festival (Taiwan)
ARTIST RESIDENCY & EXHIBITION
This is a six-week artist-in-residency project in Guandu, Taipei.
Artwork: Collective Scenes
Medium: Outdoor installation and interactive workshops
Materials: Branches, Leaves, Flowers, Hemp Rope, Grass, Waste Paper, Eco-friendly paint
Exhibition Venue: Guandu Nature Park, Taipei, Taiwan
Location:
Installation - Bird-watching Cabins 2 and the trees nearby;
Workshops - Pond Classroom & Visitor Centre
(Video documentation prepared by Guandu International Nature Art Festival [Extracted])
ARTIST STATEMENT
Guandu is a hybrid environment that documents the changes of the nature and evolution of culture and urban development. After learning the transformation of the area and meeting with the local people, I value Guandu as a precious and unique platform for us to critically reflect our attitude towards the balance of protecting the nature, preserving the traditional culture and flourishing the city.
Walking through the Guandu neighbourhood, I was attracted by the pattern on the windows. They set a frame for the scene that we perceive and, at the same time, redirect how we interpret the city with nature by initiating dialogues between the reality and our individual perspective. These windows were translated into an abstract language which is formed by lines and shapes. It may resemble the last rice paddies left in Guandu visually but, speculatively, it also represents diverse voices and viewpoints crisscrossing each other. When they encounter and start a conversation, they are creating different possibilities and future scenarios for this place, and thus the city and our humanity. My installation aims to offer an alternative approach to unveil the dissimilarity, to welcome such distinction as well as to rethink our responsibility for nature and culture. It is a collection of windows placed in various positions in the park highlighting different (hidden) sceneries which serve as a stimulus for the audience to reconsider the relationship among the nature, the tradition, and the city modernisation through art.
PUBLIC WORKSHOPS
The artwork is associated with a series of workshops involving public engagement and discussion from visitors, artists and the local people. Participants are encouraged to re-examine and explore the environment and its current status with curiosity, appreciation as well as respect.
Workshop #01 - Paper-making
To re-approach the process and tradition of paper-making with natural materials collected in the Park. Every single piece of the handmade paper is prepared with love and care.
Date: 14-15 Oct 2017
Material: Fallen Leaves, Trashpaper, Water
Location: Visitor Centre, Guandu Nature Park, Taipei
Workshop #02 - Booking-binding & Travelling Journal
To document the experience and emotion of a travelling adventure in the Park. The little booklet is an art creation of a visual memory which can be shared with others.
Date: 21-22 Oct 2017
Material: Handmade Paper from Workshop #01, 2016 Old Posters, Grass
Location: Pond Classroom, Guandu Nature Park, Taipei
(Participation from Ko Wen-je, Mayor of Taipei. Photo by Guandu International Nature Art Festival)
Workshop #03 - Storying-Making
To express our thoughts towards nature, culture and urban development with drawings. The storybooks form an invisible interaction among story-tellers, story-makers and readers.
Date: 28-29 Oct 2017
Material: Handmade Paper from Workshop #01, Book-binding from Workshop #02, Grass
Location: Outdoor Theatre, Guandu Nature Park & Guandu Temple, Taipei
Workshop #04 - Scene-Making
To encourage participants to discover the hidden scenes in our nature through designing a personal frame with branches from the Park. Each little sculpture represents an imaginative scenario of our nature.
Date: 28-29 Oct 2017
Material: Branches, Hemp Thread
Location: Outdoor Theatre, Guandu Nature Park & Guandu Temple, Taipei
Workshop #05 - A Story That Continues
To offer a platform that welcomes everyone to continue a story written communally by the public. The storyline is split into ten chapters bringing distinct ideas and opinions together.
Date: From 5 Nov 2017 onwards
Material: 2016 Old Posters, Grass
Location: Birdwatching Cabin No.2, Guandu Nature Park, Taipei
Workshop #06.1 - Penpal Project | Exchanging Scenes - Taiwan x Hong Kong
To initiate a campaign of Penpal-Exchange facilitating the cultural interaction of participants between Taiwan and Hong Kong. Every letter records an individual perspective of Taiwanese culture.
Date: 5 Nov 2017
Material: Handmade Paper from Workshop #01, Grass
Location: Outside Birdwatching Cabin no.2, Guandu Nature Park, Taipei
Workshop #06.2 - Penpal Project | Exchanging Scenes - Hong Kong x Taiwan
The second part of the Penpal-Exchange workshop collecting other viewpoints from Hong Kong participants. All letters will be collected, paired-up and mailed to a designated penpal.
Date: 25 Nov 2017
Material: Handmade Paper from Workshop #01, Grass
Location: Broadway Cinematheque, Hong Kong
VISUAL ARCHIVE
A book of a visual diary was made by UUendy Lau documenting conversations, little thoughts and interesting things that inspired her during her six-week residency for the Festival. Every single page represents a unique and unforgettable memory that moved her.
Material: 2016 Old Posters, Grass
Edition: First Publishing, 2017
Copyright © 2017 by UUendy Lau. All rights reserved.
PARTICIPATING ARTISTS
Roy Staab (United States) - Han's Path
Jordi NN (Spain) - Donde se cruzan los caminos (Where the Paths Cross)
Roger Rigorth (Germany) - Crisscrossing Wing
Chungho Cheng (Taiwan) - Where Have All the Mud-balls Gone?
Yannick Dauby (France) - Something about the inaudible hunting calls of the bats and the voices and breathes of aquatic organisms
UUendy Lau (Hong Kong) - Collective Scenes
THANK-YOU
A big Thank-You to my team and volunteers for their contribution and effort as well as being part of my project creating an unforgettable experience:
ABBY, LILY, ANNIS, ANN, CHARLIE, FUMEI, GRACE, JASON, JENNIFER, JOY, JOYCE, JUDY, JULIE, LINDA, LILY, LISA, LORI, OLIVE, RYAN, SHANIA, SHERRY, STEVEN, SU-HAN, YOLANDA, 淑娥, 品柔...
Special thanks to the amazing group of artists and organisers:
JORDI, ROGER, ROY, CHUNGHO, YANNICK, YENZI, YIFEN, RITA, YANTING, 家荷, 美蝶姐, 金姐, 阿信, Big Tree...
ANNUAL FESTIVAL & EXHIBITION
Date: 1 Oct - 31 Dec 2017
Venue: Guandu Nature Park, Taipei, Taiwan
Details: http://www.guandu-natureart.tw/about
Guandu International Nature Art Festival was Taiwan's first large-scale natural art event held in a conservation park. The park is located in Guandu wetland, a place with unique estuary culture and diverse ecosystem. The festival takes place annually and invites artists all over the world to create site-specific outdoor installations by using natural materials. The purpose of this event is not only about art and aesthetics but also about delivering messages caring for the environment. Public participation also plays a part in this event. Through communication and cooperation with local communities and volunteers, artists are able to learn from the local wisdom and try to blend in the local culture in their works.
With Paths Crisscrossing - Theme of the Year 2017
The Guandu plain was the first region in Taipei to be transformed into paddy fields by Han immigrants. Yet today, it is the largest and the last rice paddies in this city. This agricultural landscape was common in the past, but now has become rather rare and out of tune with the surrounding concrete buildings and non-stop traffic. People who enjoy this unique rural landscape are calling for preservation. However, behind the romantic scenes, there are farmers striving to make a living with the challenges of the worsening economic and environmental conditions.
With paths crisscrossing on this land, our lives are all connected. If we can learn to humbly respect the land and the sky again, then not only can we expect the revival of Nature, but there will be much and much more to come back to bring balance to our modern lives. (Poster & Text by Guandu International Nature Art Festival)
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