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The Journey to the West
2010
BY
CHU Chun-Teng
The Journey to the West
2010
mixed media
Dimensions Variable
The Journey to the West
2010
mixed media
Dimensions Variable
The Journey to the West
2010
mixed media
Dimensions Variable
The Journey to the West
2010
mixed media
Dimensions Variable
The Journey to the West
2010
mixed media
Dimensions Variable
The Journey to the West
2010
mixed media
Dimensions Variable
The Journey to the West
2010
mixed media
Dimensions Variable
The Journey to the West
2010
mixed media
Dimensions Variable
The Journey to the West
2010
mixed media
Dimensions Variable
The Journey to the West
2010
mixed media
Dimensions Variable
The Journey to the West
2010
01 / 10

Since 2008, I moved to London from Taiwan, the cultural impacts and hardships in daily life are everywhere. I started to be aware of my native context and difference, meanwhile I gradually realized how I was seriously influenced by the so-called post-colonal phenomenon and Western cultural in Taiwan. From way of thinking, lifestyle, values, esthetics (especially in the contemporary art context) to mentality toward West… the influence of 100 years actively Westernization has extended to the whole Taiwanese society. I started to wonder where my authenticity is? Furthermore, what is actual support behind my Taiwanese cultural identity? I started a journey to find myself.

I intended to create a scene of oriental study room, but the owner is absent and we can only see his collection and investigation. I was spending two weeks in different antique market to collect all of the material/object of this work and each of them is represented different period western interpretation toward East. None of them are coming from China originally and the whole installation seems to become a very simplistic representation of Edward Said theory on orientalism.

However, except of criticizing the tradition of Orientalism, introspecting my own contradictions about Taiwanese/Chinese culture has became main motivation of this piece. The whole collecting process is a very important; it represents my personal journey of seeking out identification with Taiwanese/Chinese culture from Western perception. It is also like experiment, there is no certain standard of selection and all depend on my intuition, finally I placed everything properly and presents a seems professional but actually problematic study. It is impossible to be specific (era, authenticity…)as a result; the idea is showing the conflicts between each objects at a time and every mistakes are literally represents all my messy confusion of identification while I face these Western proception of East. I am a actual owner of this study room

Finally, the triangle relationship between the camera, empty glass dome and the clapping monkey image on the monitor is the question I leave with the viewer and myself. The clapping monkey image is more like my interpretation of myself and Asia (Taiwan), rather than Western. 100 years ago when Taiwan decided to Westernize, they consider it is as ‘evolution’. However, what Asia has been doing is imitating human behavior, just like circus monkeys and finally had forgotten who they are? Moreover what I am doing and criticizing is just like the clapping monkey, trying to make massive noise in order to prove my irreplaceable existence. But in fact, could not get off the glass dome (the whole power structure).

ARTISTS
11 artworks / 45 exhibition
Installation Art , Video Art
Born in 1982, Taipei Taiwan. Chu, ChunTeng graduated from Goldsmith University of London MFA Fine Art. During this BA period, he had made a number of short films and participated in international film festivals by his graduate work “The House of S ...
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KEYWORDS
CHU Chun-Teng, 2012, Video Art , Installation Art
CHU Chun-Teng, 2009, Video Art
CHU Chun-Teng, 2006, Video Art
CHU Chun-Teng, 2009, Video Art
CHU Chun-Teng, 2010, Video Art
CHU Chun-Teng, 2008, Installation Art , Video Art
CHU Chun-Teng, 2011, Video Art
CHU Chun-Teng, 2010, Installation Art , Video Art
CHU Chun-Teng, 2013, Installation Art , Video Art
CHU Chun-Teng, 2011, Video Art