Origin

Last year, I visited the Sculpture Society (Singapore) Exhibition 2006 and attended their catalogue launching ceremony. While I had enjoyed a very sumptuous visual feast and a tour through the art of sculpture, I believe all the members from the Taiwan Sculpture Association have also felt a deep sense of excitement and gratitude, as the SSS members received us with the utmost warm and hospitality. The exhibition is an amazing one as the artworks by the members are so rich in style and expression. I was particularly attracted to the work #31 done by the society's president, Mr. Yeo Chee Kiong. Whether it is in terms of the artistic form or the content, his work is attention grabbing, innovatively refreshing, and leaves people with deep impression. Even though we have met only for the first time, we are both able to speak our mind frankly and freely about how his work is related to Eastern and Western philosophy, formal art, psychology and aesthetics, etc. The interactions and discussions on topics pertaining to the field of sculpture making have made this trip a fruitful one for me. The exchange made between the Taiwan Sculpture Association and SSS this time has written a new historical page for both countries. I am particularly delighted, and honoured, to be invited to participate in the Singapore Woodcarving Symposium 2007. I would gladly take this as a starting point for a route to new learning experiences.

Sculpting with the Touch of Soul and Inquiring into the Nature of Life

Chee Kiong had given me an impression that he is a calm and subdued person with a frank and sunny temperament, his foundation in academic training is also remarkably strong. My reading of his work: while its visual, formal quality tends to lure the viewers into making reflections on their own inner thoughts, it is also very much the artist’s own introspective and psychological monologue. He engage himself fully to activate and sustain the theories of Western aesthetics while getting rid of the superficial semblance of the formalism he had once learned, searching and investigating to achieve a true sense of his own cultural sentiment that is buried deep within him. His work is thus highly reflective of his personal disposition and the quality of his thoughts. The subjective, abstract forms of his internal soul are his main ingredients, which he convert into sculptural forms that could be fondle with by the others as a means of access to his inner world. In his attempts to verify his thoughts with the various layers of the situational mind-pictures, connecting the circumstantial components to generate dialogues, and sculpting with hands that correspond to the soul, he had probed deeply into the nature of life with his most intense instincts. He had made profound inscriptions about Eastern philosophy which believes in the infinite possibilities hidden within great nature, as well as provided lucid elaborations and made annotations about the vast and immense spiritual terrain. 

So works of art could be a medium that connects the inner world with the vivacious surrounding exterior world. The artist represents his "intentional", true self through his "incidental" consciousness, makes dialogue with the viewers, brings up the era’s spiritual apperception and be the witness of it; I often thought, an artist who is vigorously active and who lives up to his reputation is someone who possess the ability to examine things acutely and someone who is capable in detecting the developments and phenomena of the surrounding exterior world. His heart is always equipped with instruments that has the functions such as that of a telescope, a microscope, or a magnifying glass and the likes, so that he could examine the beating pulse of the era and induce it to the viewers, thereby promoting relevant perceptive responses from which he develops the energies essential for his practice, and finally to reach an accord of mutual interaction. Chee Kiong's works are meticulously depictive, and the forms amazingly mutative, it is capable of sublimating the levels of spiritual essence and provides a clear profile of it.   

The Construction of a Multi-vocabulary through Formal Isomorphism, Material Heterogeneity, (and Formal Heterogeneity)

In the past, formalist aspects had been the priority in the visual appreciation of sculptural works. Today, the progress is that artworks are presented through various diverse modes of expressions. As they are formally constructed by multifarious elements they emit a particular murmur of philosophical monologues, thereby gearing up and bringing on to the work a property to call on, to invite, or to summon someone, to present dialogues between the artist and the viewers, as well as to create emotional exchanges within the artistic-system to derive at varieties of rich vocabularies. Through a series of visual readings and psychological, perceptual operation within the various nexus, artistic connotations and meanings are produced within the viewer.

This essay will focus on a brief exploration on the content and the formal aspects of the work #31, The Falling Shadow, A Table of Darkness, and My Drawer in A Night exhibited at the Jendala Gallery of the Esplanade, and the other works from the "black series". This series of works take on striking and contradicting elements to construct a formalism that is based on heterogeneous materials. The visual forms commend the strong effect of touch sensations and psychological probing. It adequately expresses a set of rich, interesting vocabulary that is also ambiguous, and further fortifies the various nexus' pliability. As for the content, or the intention of the work, it is detached from the usual practice, which prioritize mere visual appreciation as the singular objective. The spiritual scopes, on the other hand, imply the possibility for one to become directly involved with the soul through various modes of thoughts, so that the viewers are taken by surprise at glimpses of the creator's expertise on the creation of the multiple vocabulary; the lucid forms, consistent theme, heterogeneous materials and heterogeneous formal approaches are synthesized to assume functionality and utility, together with the constructed tension that permeates between the solids and the liquids, conflict and contradiction occurs and finally sips in to the deepest recess of the viewers' soul. The black paint that is fathomless, dark, and silent, coats and covers both the solid and the liquid materials, enhancing an ambiance of mysteriousness, which lure the viewers into a psychological state where they are engaged to read the work by the materials' very own characteristics and the formal structure, and persuade them to probe and to fumble deeper into the spiritual depths.           

In #31, part of the work is a body that is half floating. Relatively the other half that is immersing in the bottomless liquid is a counterpart of it, they wobbles and rolls and "fluctuates" to create a state of "uncertain balance"! Think about the surprising moment when the viewer realized suddenly that the hard solids are in fact liquids “in disguise”, how strong would the impact be and what would the psychological reactions be? How wide would the ripples of imagination and thoughts be stretched? Is the black, magical cloak that shields and embellishes the manifold sculptural objects a reflection of the artist's unconscious anxieties and emotions? Or is it a prelude to his search for a calm state of the spiritual mind? There is a saying that "everyone is capable of doing magic, but each do so in his own smart way!" Solid objects has hardness as its nature, it exist spatially and take possession of specific positions, liquid on the other hand, is drifty in nature, its pure property give shape to the invisible marks of time. The "magic" that was presented here exceeds usual modes of one's imagination, and demonstrates conceptual innovativeness! The visual and psychological rapid changeability induce by the solids and the liquids, creates incomparable tension that diffuses in one's inner heart. Through the process of either guided revelation or self-discovery, one could perhaps enjoy a special, mysterious sense of delight from the viewer's point of view? Or gain some palpitating, fresh vocabulary for the inner heart?    

Dawn Light from a World of Blackness

Our emotional reactions in our daily encounters within the living environment are usually two-sided, one conspicuous and the other hidden. For example, the sudden, indescribable sense of emptiness when your friends and relatives have left after a festive celebration; the urge to seek company and the desire for friendship after you have left the crowds to be alone for a long period of time; or the need to resolve to plain dishes after excessive food of delicacies. When we take an overall view of the "conspicuous" and the "hidden" as such, we find that psychologically, the two are constantly trying to strike a balance and to complement each other. There is a surge of energy lurking behind Chee Kiong’s “black series”. Is it exactly this hidden dawn light that is the origin of anticipation for the strong narrative presentations? The audience’s exploration and the re-construction of the internal, psychological circumstances respond directly to the work’s conveyance of it’s projected implications! Let’s think silently and contemplate on Chee Kiong’s works, make some self examinations and experience practically the soul journey, then cleanse our feelings to think about what has been projected through the black world and what would its purpose be? In the work, the normality of the figure adhered to the table top is put in such a setting that it is transformed into an uncertain form of fluidity, it is just like the uncertain and undulating sea of life, giving us unbounded imaginations. And is the half-opened drawer attempting to dissolve the imprisoned heart, and to open the window of our soul? The materials, which have different nature and properties, keep changing in a way that resembles the shift of time and space, it creates psychological astonishment and limitless possibilities in our thoughts! The states of mind and the feelings of refusal, internal turmoil, self-reflections, interactions, inner adjustments and balance…etc., together with the multivariate mediums and unique forms of presentation, all helps to draw up strong sense of mutual interactions and resonance. The energy lurking and rolling behind the darkness pushes life to the other shore where there is sublime dawn light! Put in and surrounded by a kind of interior stillness and quietness the “black sea” is capable of accommodating the surging hundred rivers of thoughts in the mind!

In regards to the part of liquid that is involved in Chee Kiong's "black series" and work #31, I am reminded of Lao Zi's Tao De Jing, Chapter Eight, where he describes water:

"The best of man is like water, which benefits all things, and does not contend with them, which flows in places that others disdain, where it is in harmony with the Way. So the sage: Lives within nature, thinks within the deep, gives within impartiality, speaks within trust, governs within order, crafts within ability, acts within opportunity. He does not contend, and none contend against him." *

This is very inspirational and offers many imaginative associations. Water, which is weak and gentle in nature, nourishes all things and encompasses all lives on earth. Although it is plain and ordinary, it nevertheless provides a magnitude for us to experience and feel about the truth of life. Given the kind, trueness, the gradual guidance he provides, and the profound, in-depth investigations, Chee Kiong’s work is convincing for audiences who have a temperament of keenness and sensitivity; his sculptural works not only commend on unique formal inquisitions and its implications but they also have a point directly at metaphysical aesthetics. Moreover, they conjure the best spiritual space and circumstance where the bipolar notion of “emptiness/abundance” in Eastern philosophical thinking is best represented! Unintentionally, Chee Kiong's works portray a vivid condition of life, they are deeply introspective in nature, and they make the best ritualistic arena from which one could practice the lessons on life!  

Construction of Pure Land to Enrich the Conscience and the Heart

Chee Kiong's has demonstrated his abilities in the foundation of the aesthetics through his works, they encompass his concern and love for the society, the religious pathos, the deep-rooted culture, and the spiritual world. They are shaped just like a jigsaw puzzle of our time. The surface’s mysterious coat, the inlaid, heterogeneous materials, and the meaningful contents all combine to deeply influence people. His works own not only the above qualities as a descriptive nature, the more important thing is that they enter the viewer’s world so that spiritual resonances and inner interactions could occur there. The various phenomena here are reflections of the artist's individual philosophy and a direct representation of the artist’s Eastern, cultural “rootedness”. That is why in his work, the issues of human nature, race, natural environment, local sentiments, conflicts in the process of westernization, etc, are converted into and expressed through a kind of amorphous, concealed, yet lucid form! However, all these are not merely some kind of senseless, ideological counter-attacks, instead, they are reflections of modern people's anxiety, depression, confusion, frustration, boredom, and spiritual imbalance, etc caused by the occurrence of rapid changes in time and space! They are also attempts to look for spiritual outlets, to gain energy and vitality from a pure, peaceful land that is built to escape from circumstances of uncertainty and disorder, to awaken the heart and the conscience from slumbers, and to rid our spiritual mind of the irresistible thoughts of impurities! The external, environmental conflicts are intermixed with the inner de-focalized emotions to cause mutual alienation and negative conditions, which further yields in the heart a directly proportionate yearning for peace, goodness and harmony. A sort of assimilative force of cohesion is also correspondingly strengthened, and bring out the bipolar Yin and Yang energy that exist in great nature and hidden in the formalism of his sculptures. The materials are transformed and evolved into spirituality while the pulsing energy reflects the ontological facts of life. The reservation to simplicity in formalism here is often the most effective for sustaining the organism in charged of the atmosphere in the field.

In the past, the mode of living allowed human relation to be simple, human behavior are represented and brought out by the artifact’s form against a simple background. The rapid spatiotemporal development has perhaps made it impossible for us to make appeals in a singular and focused way now. Naturally, the meanings in artworks therefore have to be expressed through multi-layered forms and methods. Chee Kiong's work is also implicative of the notion of "ji", or polarity, in Taoist thinking such as that of the saying: "the greatest does not bear exteriority, the smallest no interiority". This piece of black, "empty" liquid narrates the charm of art and its infinite expandability in a wordless way. It is also through this minimalist, low-limit aesthetic forms, that there is more that the artist is seeking to convey! He refuses to simply gratify or to follow suit, but instead reflects the ethos of contemporary art to press close to real life, to refine life, and to reform the way of life. With his adventurous spirit, he combines the elements from his own philosophical thoughts and life experiences to step out and to progress to the next stage in his creation. Just like the confident manner he has shown, and with a liberal mind and generosity, Chee Kiong will continue this path and his life attitude. Artists often "treasure the accidental, initiate the inevitable", I believe this to be an essential condition in the process and development of art and art making, as artists are often happy at "non-actions", they practice self-discipline and deal with problems in a carefree way in the processes of their formal practice. The meaning of value is to call on, or to summon the viewers and make them "feel" that they have past through the "radiation" emitted from the artwork to embrace the people's inner world, to present one's individual character, unique aesthetic view, and profound artistic exposition. From his work's "mutative quality and attributes of conflicts", we are able to uncover the harmonious, kinetic forces hidden within, while returning to the basic value system in art-making to represent vitality.          

Expressing the Form and Content of "Neo-Sculpture" (Conclusion)

Conceptually, the "black series" has the characteristic and nature of a "vector". It carries elements of connotations and it can adequately express the uniqueness of ambiguity in art; perhaps ambiguity itself is the exact representation of the concept of "precision" in the scope of arts. I will proceed to elaborate on the various forms and content in which the "vector" might carries:

1.     The solids and the liquids are co-structures of constructed forms.

2.     The forms of furniture and transformative utensils have no functional properties.

3.     Although covered with the non-colour black, the work is in fact strongly labeled with the necessity to be painted "black". 

4.     The artwork occupies space and takes specific existential position; it develops a form of "negative space" from the inside. The usual concept is to set "air" within this negative space, but in Chee Kiong’s work the liquid substances are made to become fillers, thereby presenting the concrete idea of volume.

5.     Solids, liquids, and air interact and have dialogues with one another among the sculptural forms and within the spatial field. As the artist describes it: it is "material within space, and space within material".

6.     Dressed humbly in a coat of "low-limit colours", the minimalist approach here corresponds to the Chinese notion of "nothingness/plenteous". It provides an arena for the cultural interaction between the East and the West.

7.     The explicit forms when placed within the set field, give rise to states of multi-entanglement and contradiction, the feeling of harmony and alienation is naturally aroused; the concrete yet concealed vocabulary urge the external form and inner expression to constantly arrive at a sort of "grind-and-mixed" condition.  

To conclude, we can see that Chee Kiong’s works are constantly engaged with the idea of “object” which he carries on to the exploration of the idea of “objecthood”; as his materials are being “spiritualized” it logically brings on people’s in-depth imaginations and further set off their perceptual operation. Nevertheless, the main reason why this interaction is possible is because the stylistic structure of the artwork itself has the power to summon. While the viewers are involved in discussions, subtle sentiments or emotion are generated. This further connects them, either directly or indirectly, to the artwork. At this juncture, the sculptural work is no more mere “sculpture” as it is commonly known. The nature of this power to summon in Chee Kiong’s work is apparent, and I recalled professor Huang Hai Ming's speech in the "Contemporary Field of Sculpture and the Affair of Interference; Initial Investigation into the Field and Space of Contemporary Sculpture in Taiwan":

“The definition of "new-sculpture" has been widely expanded, but I do not wish to include just any form of artistic expressions into the category of sculpture. This is a terrain that is gradually expanding and its boundary is getting more blur. However, it still has traits similar to the details of traditional sculptures. Like Wittgenstein's notion of "family resemblance", these "new sculptures" may not have adhere formally to all the specific features of a traditional sculpture, but it shares part of it. Moreover, we can discern the similarities in terms of the detailed features that they shared. These similar details are exactly the thing that has delineated our scope of discussion. In within this scope, "sculpture" must definitely be considered together with "installation art", "theatre", "architectural space", or "humanism, nature and eco-system", etc. "

We can easily see from the above view, that Chee Kiong's works imply his investigation into the field of "new-sculpture". The interference of a sort of performance transforms and alters the usual sculptural field. At points unknowingly, the sculptures become stage or background from which we could view and appreciate. Role-plays begin, as audiences freely join in to interact with the works and “perform”, the “performers” become part of the work and are sculptures in action, they are at the artist’s disposal and are medium from which he could express and develop his individual, creative thoughts.

Reference (Original’s):

Huang Guangn an, Dang Dai Diao Su Chang Yu Yu Jie Mian Jian Shi Jian Tai Wan Dang Dai Diao Su Chang Yu Zhi Chu Tan – Huang Hai Ming, “Dang Dai Diao Su – Yan Jing, Zhuan Huan, Tan Suo”, page 85-127, Taipei City, National History Museum.