Time in between
Time in Between features urban views from both Taipei and Paris. It documents a compressed 24 hours in these two places with 24 locations and 24 Taiwanese people strolling in Paris. By seamlessly overlaying urban images from the two cities at different hours of the day, 24 hours in the existence of a strange composite zone emerges. The present in the past, the present in the present and the present in the future coexist in temporal simultaneity.
The very moment I have just experienced in Taipei and Paris has gone, vanished and yet the feeling of the past and the future arc at the same time retained within the present. Today’s Taipei is as if yesterday’s Paris, our bodily perception straddles two cities and falls into the unfolding time in between. Carrying our past experience and present perceptions, we head for the future- connecting one point to the next, and on to the next one.
Every hour the video documents 24 Taiwanese people wandering slowly around 24 popular Paris attractions. Their slow movements create a sharp contrast with those of the fast-moving tourists, reflecting the subtle interplay of alienation and belonging one experiences in a foreign land. It depicts their careful consideration regarding their every step and the next steps they will take. They seem to make up some kind of community, but the connections between them seem blurred. This careful deliberation over how to proceed in a changing landscape extends beyond the international status at the current time.
2014, Single channel video, Sound, color, 12’00 “
時光間
《時光間》收集了台北與巴黎兩地的城市景緻，每小時紀錄兩地24小時、24個景點、24位台灣人在巴黎行走，並運用台北與巴黎的景色產生出時空重疊，組合建構成一日時間的綻放。過去的現在、現在的現在和未來的現在，現在一個接續一個黏附在時間中進行著。我在台北與巴黎的現在才剛過去，它即刻消沒，過去與未來的感受伴隨著當下一同給出。今日的台北意向昨日的巴黎，我們的身體感知跨越兩地落入綿延的時光間，我們帶著過去的經驗，當下的體現，朝向未來持續前進，透過一個點連接另一個點，接續下一個點。每小時紀錄24位在巴黎的台灣人，緩慢行走於巴黎24個著名景點，與來往穿梭的觀光客構成強烈對比，突顯出滲透在身體裡的，生活在異地的細微差異性；描述著他們日以繼夜不停思考的每一步及下一步。在這裡他們如同生命共同體般，看似沒有關聯卻有關係地一個接著一個相互渡過一天！作品也傳達了一點政治意涵，透過主角們「思考如何繼續走下去」的遭遇，影射台灣目前的國際處境。
2014年，單頻道錄像，影片，有聲，彩色，12’00 “
Yun-Ju Chen 