Chin-Yao CHEN：Radio Exercise
Curatorial Statement
There are only three countries in the world that you will find calisthenics broadcasting through the radio. The three countries are Japan, Korea and Taiwan. Everyone must remember the days when one was in elementary school; you can’t stop weaving your hands and legs when you hear a specific melody. The series of movements will eventually be turned into a part your memory, which is to say that the national collectivism is followed to be part of your collective subconsciousness.
This time my work is to cpmplete this series of works, after Japan, Taiwan; I want to make South Korea’s own version of gymnastics. Because of this, the name of this piece is called “International Radio Exercises.” So in addition to exercises, I also contemplated on what is the definition of “international” in these three countries. In recent years, the image South Korea presents to other countries are often K-POP artists, so different from the Japanese version of inviting people from different countries to participate in exercises, and Taiwan’s version that invite Africans. In Korea, I want to be able to find two men and two women who are Korean, in the age from 20 to 30 years old, who meets the criteria of attractive men and women, dressed in typical primary school sports uniforms. Then I want to ask them to join me in Changwon and Masan’s famous landmarks performing exercise. Of course at the same time, I also hope to have Changwon’s local public to participate together in the shooting of the work.
Artist
Ching Yao CHEN
Born in Taipei in 1976, Chen Ching-Yao received his MFA in Fine Arts from Taipei National University of the Arts in 2006. He has won the Award of Newly Emerging Artists in Taiwan and the First Prize of Taipei Arts Award. He was also the recipient of Asian Cultural Council’s grant in 2009, which enabled him to conduct a residency in New York. In recent years, Chen’s work centers around photography and painting. The range of his subject matter is very wide, and his work focuses on the deconstruction of power and symbols. He often appropriates symbols of popular culture, especially those of the Japanese and Korean pop culture, and even the portraits of Asian politicians, and drastically recreates and transforms them into humorous, amusing images and behaviors, or simply assumes the roles of these figures himself in his work. By doing so, he creates a strong sense of contrast to the original subject and produces laughter. His downplaying the symbols of power is undoubtedly a sarcastic satire against modern society. While making his audience laugh about the situation, he also aims to make them reflect upon the absurdity of different actions of power in their surroundings.
Duration
2019.02.16－04.20
Venue
DIGITAL ART CENTER, TAIPEI
（No.180, Fuhua Rd., Shihlin Dist., Taipei City）
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陳擎耀 收音機體操作品
陳擎耀 收音機體操