it looks sound but...
By Sean C.S. Hu for Wu Tsan-Cheng (吳燦政)
It looks sound but…
Sound that is ignored
Sound, more specifically can be human speech, or the noise that is emitted during communication, is the noise made when objects collides, vehicles roaring by, wind passing through branches and across the grassland; in the abstract sense it is often the position occupied by awareness. The first is engraved deeply into everyday life, and actions constitute the development of history; the latter scatter across various discussions about human talk with politics, power, etc. Some sound so huge we are incapable of not noticing, their every move attracting our attentions, some sounds are too small or confused, making us forget and then ignored. Being ignored is being neglected, also taken for granted as we become accustomed thus no longer contemplate and think. In the photography works of Chen Po-I, abandoned objects that is destroyed by chaos hints at the original space and activities might have been carried out, and through mud stains left on the walls or the construction equipment, it is apparent that the human activity that was in the space was removed involuntary (government plans, natural disasters) and space left abandoned describing also the problems within politics and power. From a third person perspective, the artist records each scene in a detached manner, the seemingly quite figureless image further emphasis faint cries of the people and historical value of the place being ignored. In contrast, Wu Tsan-Cheng’s sound recording is the response of the neglected voices, through the collection and reorganizing of everyday “sound” that is often ignored by being considered as noise, using sound to contrast the image of Taiwan, which further questions our awareness to these “sounds” buried in our everyday life, when we are unsure of our position.
Incident and view
For an incident happening, in what way can we observe, when the incident does not include a main protagonist, whether it is absent or the protagonist have blended with the background then how can we identify and imagine the happening of these incidents? Following the few clues available to outline the structure of the incident, and imagine as fully as possible its mood and atmosphere, contemplating on every level, recreate and construct, only then can we see the full form of the incident. When removed from their context these clues provided us with a different perspective when their special traits. Whether it is Chen Po-I’s photography or Wu Tsan Cheng’s sound art, the image and sound captured are not a complete description individually but pieces of the complete description, which we can piece together into an event in motion.
Describing Taiwan
This exhibition presents a description of Taiwan piece together from the pieces ignored in our daily life, background sound and image. These sounds signify the structure of power and hints at the ignorance to the value of our existence, collecting different clippings of sound from everyday places around Taiwan, and views in local specific areas in Taiwan, giving us a different perspective of which at first glance look sounds but…
聲.景
被忽視的聲音
聲音,具體來說是人類說話、溝通所發出來的聲響,是物體碰撞物體、汽機車呼嘯而過、風吹過樹梢草地等的聲響;抽象來說常指意識形態所佔據的位置。前者鑲嵌於人類一切活動當中,而活動構成歷史發展;後者散見於人類談論與政治、權力等有關的各種討論。有些聲音大到使得我們不得不注意,其一舉一動皆牽引我們的目光,有些聲音過於細小或紛雜,使得我們進而忘之以致忽略。被忽視,是指不受重視,也是指因習以為常而被認為理所當然,因而不再去審視與思考。在陳伯義的攝影作品中,廢棄空間裡混亂毀壞的物件暗示了原本空間裡所進行的活動,而透過殘桓上的泥濘水漬,或是窗框外的整建機具,明顯地指涉原本於此空間活動的人是出於非意願的原因(政府計畫、自然災害),才被迫離開、遺棄,同時也隱喻政治與權力的問題,藝術家以第三者記錄式的觀點冷靜捕捉畫面,影像中毫無人影看似相對寂靜,卻更能凸顯這其中在地人們微弱的呼喊及歷史價值的忽視;相對而言,吳燦政的聲音作品是種對被忽視聲音的回應,透過收集並整理生活環境中常被視為並被忽視的「噪音」,以聲音的方式去建構台灣的面貌,進而提問當我們懷疑自身的定位時,是否有先聆聽過這些隱沒於生活當中的「聲音」。
事件的景觀
對於事件的發生,我們可以怎麼去觀看,當事件沒有主角、主角缺席,或是主角與背景全都模糊成一塊,我們怎麼去辨別與想像發生的經過?依循僅有的線索,去勾勒出事件的結構,並盡可能去感受事件發生當時的情緒及氛圍,在層層反覆的思索、還原與建構後,我們才看見事件的面貌。而建構事件的線索,在抽離其原本脈絡後,透過其特質提供了不同的視角觀點。不管是陳柏義的攝影,還是吳燦政的聲音作品,其擷取的畫面及聲音,各自都不能算是完整的事件,而是事件中的線索,而藉由這些線索,我們得以去想像事件的發生並構成一種動態的景觀。
對台灣的書寫
這個展覽所呈現的,正是試圖以散落於我們生活之中被忽略、背景化的「聲音」與畫面來呈現台灣的面貌。被忽視的聲音可以是指我們鮮少去注意到的權力結構,也可以是隱喻我們對於自身普遍存在的歷史或價值的忽略,透過截錄台灣各地的日常聲音,與在地特有的空間樣貌,我們因而看見一個不同以往我們所熟悉的「聲景」。