‘THE PERFECT IMAGE’

as a part of ‘Y.E.S. Taiwan IX’ (Young Emerging Stars of Taiwan IX) by Jacky Jaan-Yuan Kuo, Shu-Yun Chiang, Yu-Sen He, Shang-Yang Wu, Chao-Hua Chen, Sen Ning, & Shu-Yu Liu

Aki Gallery, Taipei, Taiwan
2nd—24th July 2022

‘The Perfect Image’; site-specific installation; sound script & text-based video, projector, sound, headset, curtain, bucket, wet plaster, water, gel wax, dryer ball, immobile car seat, seat belt, lace chair cover, car cup holder, glass, dried bee; dimension variable
Installation view of ‘The Perfect Image’
Close-up of ‘The Perfect Image’
Close-up of ‘The Perfect Image’
Close-up of ‘The Perfect Image’
Close-up of ‘The Perfect Image’
Close-up of ‘The Perfect Image’

(Photo documentation: Qi-Hong Zhu; Courtesy: Aki Gallery)

Corpses lay on a windowsill, exposed for days; scorching sun enveloped in panes. Their flat, dry, and airy wings sway gently in sculptural mounds. Circling at high speed, frenetic flies shuttle on the other side of the glass and, colliding violently against the transparent barrier, they meet their demise as a regular and darker gray. Door knobs rumble in the distance, endlessly.

‘The Perfect Image’ is an audio, spatial installation, first exhibited at my previous solo exhibition ‘Vi Sees’ (Eng: I will see you later) in 2021. It is a patchwork of scenes in my memory - both nonfictional and inevitably fictional - combining past pictorial experiences and physical perception, incorporating them with current writings, recordings, readings into several sets of sound scripts at the space. They are responding to their changing bodies, both in terms of space and time, entailing personal memories, uneasy perceptions, and identity insecurity which is always in progress.

Up here, my attempt to end with another pictorial narration: a family portrait, a perfect image. It is sometimes dry, airy, sometimes damp. I will see you all later.



A collaborative sound piece for ‘The Perfect Image’ (14:10 min) by Jacky Jaan-Yuan Kuo & Wei Ting Zeng

Composition & sound editing:
Wei Ting Zeng;
Sound script & text-based video:
Jacky Jaan-Yuan Kuo;
Recording:
Jacky Jaan-Yuan Kuo & Wei Ting Zeng;
Monologue:
Jacky Jaan-Yuan Kuo;

Curating:
Melony Chiu & Lian Huoh;
Technical support:
Jr-Shin Luo & Gwo-Woei Wu;
Textile support:
Shepherd Chen;
Support of bees:
Shu-Shan Chen & Ying Chuan Honey Farm

Installation view of ‘Y.E.S. Taiwan IX’ at Aki Gallery, Taipei, Taiwan; ‘Fusion-seed’ & ‘Condensation-magic Wand’ (left) by Yu-Sen He