Ghost between Island and Land三留
Single channel video Ghost between Island and Land is an extension of Ding-Yeh Wang’s Family History Series. By integrating the reflections of the sea water, this work narrates the history and memories related to the Black Ditch of Taiwan Strait.
Ghost between Island and Land conveys the concept of the past, present, and future, touching upon Taiwanese migration history, the family history of migrants who traveled to Taiwan from China, and myths legends. The passage of time reveals the deaths and unknowns accompanying exodus and separation, as well as shattered dreams of a better tomorrow. Many people travel to the island with bright hopes and dreams about the future but are faced with the dangers and various challenges while crossing the Black Ditch. There is a Taiwanese saying that among ten people who attempt to cross the Black Ditch, six will die at sea, three will arrive at the shore, and one will retreat and return to China. Several myths and legends describe the sea monsters of the Strait, all indicating the perilous journey across the waters. Throughout the past four, five hundred years, the Black Ditch has taken countless lives, each with different dreams for the future, becoming a graveyard for beautiful memories and visions of a better past, present, and future.
The ghost of past dreamers has transformed into waves on the waters between the island and land. Either peaceful or stormy, the waters have witnessed both hope and despair, glittering in the sun and reflecting segments of history, memory, and all things of the past, present, and future.
《三留》單頻道錄像裝置為王鼎曄「家族史」系列的外傳。藝術家以海平面上波光粼粼的反射,鋪陳出臺灣海峽黑水溝海域所承載的歷史與記憶。
《三留》,即「過去」、「現在」、「未來」的指涉,觸及臺灣早期移⺠的歷史、中國渡海來臺的家族史以及鬼魅神話等,將其揉雜在時間的迭代之中,輻奏出遷徙、離散、希冀美好未來所伴隨的覆滅、死亡與未知。「三留」是這片海的鬼魂。許多人帶著美好的希望前進美麗的島嶼,途中必經歷黑水溝重重凶險的阻礙,臺灣俗諺更以「十去,六死,三留,一回頭」來描述黑水溝海象詭譎的凶險與恐怖,亦有傳奇神話的海蛇妖、鮫人族等鬼魅妖怪守候途中,在四五百年來有無數懷抱著不同夢想的人們,被這片海洋帶走了性命,並將美好的「過去」、「現在」、「未來」留在這裡。
在島嶼與陸地之間的海浪被這些懷抱著夢想的鬼魂攪動著,無論平靜或驚濤駭浪,這片海洋承載著無盡的「希望」與「絕望」,波光閃耀著,波光上的七彩光亮映射,映射出一段歷史、一抹記憶以及一切的「過去」、「現在」、「未來」。
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