CHAOTIC PARADISE: THE DAZZLING PERCEPTION
Keyword: OVERWELMED
TSOU: "I felt overwhelmed, not knowing which channel to look at."
Keyword: INDEPENDENT
HSIEH: "There is no fixed viewing sequence for the work. I believe that after the work is delivered to the audience, it lives its independent life."
Located at a corner of the museum’s gallery space, what comes to the eye is a green background wall, the ground paved with artificial grass, and three screens placed at uneven levels. There is also a mannequin painted green with broken limbs lying aside. Tsou told me that she was attracted to the title “Paradise of Chaos” when she first saw the work. The green background reminded her of the green screen in film productions, and the mannequin also caught her attention. She told me the setting enabled her to get into the situation very quickly. Additionally, the digital sound in the environment brought her a sense of discomfort. She thought the noise was deliberately created to convey a sense of incongruity.
Interestingly, Tsou was able to comprehend the intended message of the artwork from her initial impression. According to Hsieh's explanation, the on-site installation aims to represent a "state of alienation caused by the media." The green body symbolizes the media's ubiquitous influence, highlighting the relationship between media and individuals.
Later, as Tsou tried to read the message of the three channels, she noted, “I felt overwhelmed, not knowing which channel to look at." She got attracted to narrations and captions on any channel, making her feel dazzled. After bringing up the issue to Hsieh, Hsieh informed her of the channel titles and a suggested viewing order, enabling Tsou to rewatch everything. As Tsou mentioned, “I had a strong reliance on words, either narration or caption, to understand what has been told in the piece.” She felt familiar with the text in the videos, which brought her a sense of familiarity with Hsieh. Eventually, she stopped in front of the work for over twenty minutes before finally completing viewing every screen for a round.
In fact, as Hsieh stated, "There is no fixed viewing sequence for the work. I believe that after the work is delivered to the audience, it lives its independent life." She only reminded the audience that the two upper screens present more congruent concepts, and simultaneous viewing of the two can aid in understanding the piece faster, while cross-viewing between all screens can help construct the audience's interpretation. Additionally, Hsieh shared her perspective on the use of words in her work, acknowledging the general public's reliance on them. She said, "My pursuit of the intertextuality of words and images in art is influenced by essay film. I believe words should not be used only as a support to the images. They should co-exist, with specific meaning generated together.”
Review
Hsieh's art