- “Never ignore what a tree or a body of water has to tell you. Turn in where you drawn to do so, and give yourself permission to bask in the sun. Never mind your relatives, offer support to strangers, bend down to look at trifles, duck into deserted places, don’t fall for the high drama of destiny, laugh conflict to bits. Show your true colors till you prove to be right, and the rustling of leaves turns sweet. Walk about the villages.”
--Peter Handke
This spring, the New Taipei City Art Museum (NTCAM) is launching an exhibition titled “PROMENADE IN THE PARK,” inviting four groups of artists—Wang Chen Wei, Huang Jiun Nan + Jamie Lo, Iyo Kacaw, and ufa—to create works with the original intention of “deriving from, utilizing, and eventually returning to nature.” The inspiration for their works is drawn from the natural ecosystem, emphasizing elements like soil, wood, wind, and the auditory essence of the environment. Some pieces also serve as habitats for wildlife, incorporating recycled materials for their construction. This multisensory interactive experience encourages visitors of all ages to engage with nature by observing wind patterns and the earth’s hues, feeling the texture of trees, and listening to the natural symphony of life around them.
Wang Chen Wei’s Shadow of the Wind draws inspiration from the vigorous winds generated by the wind valley effect in the Sanxia-Yingge renewal area beside the Dahan River. The piece attempts to “capture wind and shadows,” allowing the variations of the wind, both gentle and fierce, to be visualized through the artwork, with lines that dance and leap in the air. Yellow symbolizes the sacred realms and halls in cultural aesthetics, glory, and brilliance, representing the New Taipei City Art Museum.
The Prospect Before Takeoff continues artist Iyo Kacaw’s “Seed” series, viewing from the perspective of a “seed” searching for the next landing spot—a place within the city where it can breathe freely. Roots spread and stretch beneath the earth, tightly gripping the soil to solidify and stabilize the land. The work utilizes driftwood to simulate roots entwining on the ground, inviting viewers to stroll between the roots while birds find perches among them, enhancing the intimate connection and dialogue between humanity and nature. The piece also symbolizes the museum taking root in the Sanxia-Yingge renewal area, allowing art saplings to thrive and gradually weave into a tapestry of diverse cultural land.
Between the Reality and Illusion of Transmutation by Huang Jiun Nan + Jamie Lo uses bamboo strips and clay-dyed fabric to create a thirty-meter-long transformation scene of “emerging from the cocoon,” symbolizing the NTCAM emerging with the joy of rebirth. The work uses the delicate and pliable nature of bamboo to form sprawling cocoons, while the earthy colors of the fabric, dyed with Yingge clay, reflect the essence of the land shaped by time and environment. The soft, mud-dyed cloth flutters in the breeze, its shifting shadows narrate the varied experiences of joy and sorrow encountered in life’s metamorphosis.
The electronic music group ufa was specially invited to engage in a dialogue with the permanent display Pottery by artist Lin Shuen-Long, creating a unique auditory experience through the echoes in the space of the piece. The album Nature’s Pulse serves as the acoustic central axis, with natural materials such as bamboo, flowers, and plants enveloping the sound, forming a gigantic spiral, the DNA of life, within Pottery. Bamboo forms the skeleton, while flowers and grass clothe it in flesh. The concept embodies the flow of life and symbiosis found in nature. This “living” artwork evolves and grows throughout the exhibition, influenced by time, light, rain, and soil, showcasing the dynamic process of life.
The New Taipei City Art Museum is located in the artificially filled “Sanxia-Yingge renewal area,” a space where humans and nature coexist harmoniously. It is hoped that through the intervention and reinterpretation of art, the bond between urban dwellers and nature will be reawakened.
