- Date 2018.12.08-2019.01.20
- Venue TKG+ Projects
NIU Jun-Qiang Solo Exhibition 2018
NIU Jun-Qiang
Comments on the Finalist
The allure of NIU Jun-Qiang Solo Exhibition 2018 lies in its display of an ingenious tug-of-war between two forces: when a single-channel video is transformed into a misleading scheme, the arrangement that the exhibition claims to show creates an absent artwork. What is a visible artwork, or in this case, one that is present? The answer to this question is intricately linked with the artist’s personal religious belief and his anxiety about losing his eyesight. The image and sound of the video, which is meticulously and thoroughly thought out, connects the space within and without the exhibition, and merges reality and imagination as well as the tactile world and that of the spiritual. The arrangement of a particular corner in the exhibition drains the anticipation of the audience: does the described motion image really exist? Or, does it only exist in one’s imagination, memory and consciousness? Oscillating between blindness and bearing witness, NIU Jun-Qiang Solo Exhibition 2018 reveals a brilliant debate on the elusive and changing relations between religion and art, the church and the white box, as well as presence and illusion.
(Commentator: SING Song-Yong)
Artwork Introduction
Adopting the same title as his 2014 and 2015 solo exhibitions, this exhibition examines the continuous time while focusing on and reflecting the artist’s state of life. Niu continues his interpretation of “blindness,” and discusses the correlation between the intangible synesthesia in artistic experience and the abstract experiences in faith. The exhibition revolves around a discussion about “visibility” and “invisibility.” In the video work, NIU Jun-Qiang Solo Exhibition 2018, the artist guides the visually impaired participant (Hsu Jia-Feng) through the empty gallery through his narration, which informs Hsu the placement, appearance, concept and production process of a series of works that respond to essential questions asked in the exhibition: “What is God?” “What does God look like?” “How does it feel to be graced by God?” Nevertheless, the artworks described in the video are absent from the physical exhibition. The exhibition space is not where these invisible artworks are housed, but where their presence lingers. As the video ends, the physical exhibition unfolds, ingeniously connecting the intangible space (the space within the video) and the tangible space. With the narrative of the video, Niu aims to delineate the presence of the works. In addition to this video, the other two works, Foresee II and The Portrait of Divinity, together with the spatial arrangement of the exhibition, connect how the audience perceives the intangible and the tangible spaces, converting visual perception into a dialectic debate of existence.
About the Artist
Niu Jun-Qiang holds a BA in Interior Design from Shih Chien University and an MFA in New Media Art from Taipei National University of the Arts. He currently lives and works in Taipei, and is also Adjunct Assistant Professor at Shih Chien University and Yuan Ze University. Working across a wide range of media, including video, experimental film, photography and mixed media installation, Niu’s work illustrates “the nature of existence” and explores hidden encounters in life, subtle connections between people and the living consciousness that encompasses individuals and communities, his insightful and macrocosmic questions formulated with various art forms. His works have been featured in museum exhibitions in both Taiwan and abroad, and his film, Even They Never Met, was awarded Best Experimental Film in the 35th Golden Harvest Awards.
Production Team
The member of “NIU Jun-Qiang Solo Exhibition 2018”
Artist：NIU Jun Qiang
Curator：FENG-Hsin
Video Crew list
Director：NIU Jun Qiang
Produced by：Wade DING
Unit Production Manager：TSAI Meng-Yan
Director of Photography：Wayne LO
Additional Camera：CHEN Kuan-Yu
Assistant Camera：KU Yao-Hua, SHEN Tzu-Ken, CHANG Yi-hua
Gaffer：CHIEN Chiang
Best Boy：FENG Tzong-Ting, YANG Che-Chi
Production Sound Mixer：CHANG Yu-Jung
Boom Operator：LIN En-Yu
Actor：NIU Jun-Qiang, HSU Jia-Feng, LI,Hong-Jie, LI,Sen-Guang, HUANG,Pin-Yu, FENG-Hsin, LIN,Yi-Rong, CHUNG,Chung-Yu, WEI,Rong-Da
English Subtitle Translator：Conor Stuart
Assistant：WANG Jing-Xi, KONG Jia-Lin, LU Jun-Min
Editor：PAN Ke-Yin
Digital Colorist：CIOU Cheng-Yon, Rainbow LIN
Audio Post Production Services：buzzing STUDIO Co.Ltd.
Camera Equipment：Clear Sky Co.,Ltd.
Lighting Equipment：DEEWATCH CULTURE CO.,LTD.
Digital Colorist Consultant：After80’s Medias Co.,LTD
Sponsor：Department of Culture Affairs Taipei City Government, National Culture and Art Foundation
