「Di-stances」是對於今日人類生存狀態的一種思考。它代表了「距離」（distances），卻也隱含著「態度」與「立場」（stances），當代世界的快速變遷與頻繁的跨界流動，迫使我們必須重新思考群我之間的「距離/立場」（di-stances）。由於所處位置與觀看視角的不同，往往成為誤解與衝突的來源，這是本展所開展的發問：在不同文化之間，無形與有形的距離要如何去測量呢？本展透過跨領域的影像、裝置、攝影之藝術作品，試圖找出另一種當代藝術的解讀方式。
周育正敏銳觀察當代社會疏離的文化現象，藉由影像、物件等媒材讓現實與想像交互投射，讓觀者主動參與、融入作品中，主客異位卻寓意深長。長年居住於德國杜賽朵夫的佐藤雅晴，以繪畫和動畫為創作主軸，作品中沒有具體的故事情節，卻將現實世界景象轉化為數位風景，呈現一種無時代背景的虛擬世界。姜顯鬱的作品一貫探討文化與語言之間的關係，更關注語言背後隱藏的權力關係。真部剛一將創作過程視為作品本身，何謂正常與不正常？什麼又是常態、或是非常態？他顛覆了我們對社會階級的傳統看法。
本展於歐洲巴黎啟程，陸續在亞洲台北、東京、仁川等地巡迴，就如同當代文化的定義永遠沒有正解一樣，這個巡迴展也像是一趟當代藝術的探險之旅。期待透過國際巡迴展的形式，消弭距離與立場間的隔閡，營造一場場開放而深刻的影像對話，開創更包容、多元的文明辯證之路。
Visible Distances．Invisible Stances
The topic “Di-stances” of this exhibition is a thought to the modern state of human survival. As literally meant, the word “Di-stances” stands for the “Distance” not only stands for “the distance,” but also implicates “attitudes” and “stances”. Therefore, other than measuring the distance among people or between people and events by specific space or time, measuring through different positions and view angles has often become sources of conflicts and misunderstandings in contemporary society. In this named [Di-stances] exhibition, creation of works by the artists performed like a double-blade sword which, on the one hand, sharply divided the ideological barrier of the West and the East, on the other hand, also pondered bitterly upon the meaning of “motherland.”
This is the profound exploration of our exhibition. When contemporaries doubt about self-existence due to variations among different environments, constant moving and migration has provided a “Distance” for people to review themselves. But how do we measure the intangible and tangible distances between different cultures?
A contemporary exploration departing from Paris
The initial concept of this exhibition was brought up in Paris, and was incubated and cultivated in Taipei via the brainstorm among a group of artists, and was further furnished with profound embraciveness and expansion via countless communication and adjustments. Those sparkling conversations among the artists, who came from France, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan, became such creative and energetic elements to this exhibition that I had further expanded the notions and the structural framework of this exhibition. Through exchanges of opinion in Chinese, French, Japanese, and English, the curator myself and all participating artists had come to mutual understandings and respect to differences and similarities, and lead to various interpretations and performance to art.
Measurement practices—to see recognitions from cross-border
As per development of contemporary arts up to today, art is no longer a pursuit of aesthetic but a criticism and introspection to our society. Therefore, our exhibition is seeking to find different ways to interpret contemporary art through various fields such as video art, installation art, and photography. Culture is an instrument of communication as well as a principle of social behavior. In an independent cultural system, outsiders bring in new viewpoints, while at the same time play the role of saboteurs or revolutionaries. Sometimes they even oppose to their own systems and pose damage to the system. Behind the two competing roles hides the crisis of social unrest and tension, yet the factor of social changes.
Apart from the main theme of cultural conflicts and cultural impacts, the cross-border contemporary art also presents the progress of variation, contrapuntal and the harmony. The interpretation and deconstruction of artists are deemed as “creative explanation.” This is a controversial debate across public and private areas; while on the other hand, it also demonstrates the interpretation ability of the new generation artists in this environment. We don’t reject errors and misinterpretation; on the contrary, we value such errors and misinterpretation as contrasts and chances for self-examination.
Conclusion
Within the first decade of the 21st century, our exhibition departs from Paris in Europe and travels to Taipei ,Tokyo and Incheon in Asia. While holding this seemingly endless traveling exhibition of contemporary art, we must bear in mind that there is no absolute solution to contemporary culture. The goal of this exhibition is to arouse more concrete and practical collisions and reactions, and to create an open communication to seek for diversified explanations and directions.