Gourmet Drama - Yinling Hsu Solo Exhibition
料理劇－許尹齡 2012個展
2012.12.08~02.03
料理劇－許尹齡 2012個展
2012.12.08~02.03
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“Everything you eat means something.”
The story began with an incident. It was about a body found in a house. Not a single grain of rice was found in the deceased’s stomach; and no signs of struggle of any kind were discovered as well. The ambience of the room was more or less delightful with a slight hint of decay. Among the few things she left behind was a notebook filled with recipes she had recorded as well as all the food she had eaten in her life and the memories related to those dishes. From the self-explanatory flounder, to the cup cakes that thawed a tough front, to the worry-resolving delicacy that was the sizzling teppanyaki, to the reliable sets of steaks enjoyed in silence, through an intricate analysis of the tongue, these daily dishes seemed to epitomize some bewildering social phenomenon, creating a sense of hunger, fear, and happiness. On the last page of the notebook, the entry explained that she chose to refrain from eating anything until her death. It was neither because of a religious fasting nor an extreme, self-inflicted behavior; it was because she felt certain and decided that the amazing nutrients of the food were no longer needed. This work centers on “food” and develops a series of observations on our society. It focuses on the relationships between individuals as well as those of between individuals and the society. It further analyzes them in terms of the theme, “food,” gathers and transforms them into plots of gourmet dramas. “Everything you eat means something.” Human being’s diet is an accumulation of vast experiences, ranging from the mere need to stop hunger to a manifestation of pursuing a better life, from the exquisite art of dining to the down-to-earth clangor of knives and spatulas, and making choices to get different daily meat, vegetable and fruit. These images, whether about people or food, hopefully convey a message—because human being could not survive without food, we might as well sincerely face what is inevitably happening around us. At such a moment, as if revealing human being’s every desire, our diet honestly represents the current state of our society. Another reason that this work centers on food is because of the associations that have been imposed on the images of food. In addition to being interpreted physically, food has always been associated with the senses of taste and smell. As time changes, people have formed strong attachments to certain food. Besides the fact that some food requires specific culinary techniques, dining has become a vital means to bond with people because it is rather simple to interpret the world through food. It could be easily associated with various characters, classes, and circumstances. Nevertheless, it is also quite often that once a type of food is thus associated, it becomes more complicated like the human heart. It might hide behind a certain degree of ambiguity, or it might not live up to its name. It could go bad easily, or it could be pickled for longer preservation. Sometimes, people even prefer the fermented. It is exactly among these familiar, unsurprising incidents and accidents, the most common yet profound emotions are camouflaged and observed. I have always been hoping to express this kind of established connection through paintings because these invisible scenes are usually the most truthful concealed in the reality. 「每放進嘴裡的任何一樣東西都有意義。」 故事從一個社會事件開始，講述的是關於在屋內發現的一具屍體，她在死的時候胃裡連一粒米都沒有，屋內沒有任何負面的痕跡且飄揚的氛圍大致上是宜人的，儘隱約有股陳腐的氣味。另外在她身邊少數遺留的物品中發現了一本紀錄滿食譜的手札，這本手札紀錄了她一生中吃下的食物以及關於食物的記憶：清者自清的解釋比目魚、不必再強顏歡笑的杯子蛋糕、熱騰騰鐵板燒的美味到底讓我們忘卻了關於誰的煩惱、我們時刻都在依賴著不須交談的牛排套餐等等…那一道道經由舌頭進行精密分析的日常料理，彷彿述說著一個個令人匪夷所思的社會現象，不斷創造飢餓感、恐懼和幸福。手札最後一頁寫下的是她選擇了再也不吃下任何的東西直至死亡，不是為了斷食禱告，也不是任何自殘的偏激行為，而是心裡十分篤定且真實地離開了那些食物所提供的奇異養分而已。 此次創作以“食”作為主軸發展出一系列對社會的觀察，將人與人、人與社會之間的關係剖析出與主題“食”相關的見解並轉化、集結成為形同戲劇片段般的“料理劇”情節。「每放進嘴裡的任何一樣東西都有意義」—飲食這件事從填飽飢餓到追求美好生活的想像，從飲食之道回歸到實實在在於刀鏟相擊、雞鴨牛羊、青蔬鮮果中掙扎奮鬥，都背負著人類所積累的龐大經驗，在這些畫面中的主角不論是人或是食物，我希望它們傳達出的訊息是：既然人類不進食便無法生活下去，那不如就這麼一次認真地面對發生在我們周遭不得不去在乎的事，頓時之間，飲食彷彿揭發了人類的一切慾望，誠實地訴說著社會現狀。 另外此次作品以食物作為對象，另一個原因來自於食物的意象長久以來一直被賦予著強加的關聯性，它除了形體上的被解讀之外，也擁有人類味覺嗅覺上的倚賴，更隨著時代的進化人類賦予食物的感情也更加濃厚，除了某些具有特定意義的烹調方法，進食這一件事更是人與人之間建立關係的不二手段，因為用食物作為理解這個世界的方法很容易，它可以被輕易標誌成各種角色、階層、場合，但一如往常將食物社會化之後，它也可以變得跟人心一樣複雜，因為它隱晦，因為它不一定名符其實，它很容易腐敗也很容易在腐敗前一刻予以醃漬封存，但有時候人們也吃腐敗的那一種。 就是在諸如此類種種生活中熟悉與不驚異的事故、社會事件之中，令人觀察到其中蘊藏著最通俗卻又最深刻的情感強度，一直希望可以透過繪畫表現這種強加的關聯性，這些不可見才是被隱藏在現實之下最真實的場景。 |