a firetime storey
南方以南展覽群記

「南方以南」藝術計畫以台東南迴段原鄉為關照起點，將當代藝術帶到了未知的領域，與在地文化交流學習的試驗。「以南」所指向的並非地理之南，而是當我們有機會跳脫原有的知識、邏輯，轉以身體感知記憶認知世界，與自然連結時，那更深一層的精神空間。

我們在部落夜裡經常會生火，應該說看到火就覺得回家了，火的力量不僅讓原始燒出文明，更表象兩種截然不同的狀態，虛實相交的意象，貫穿天地的媒介。「南方以南」大多的故事與靈感都是圍著火堆燒出來的，也是這本書名「a firetime story」的來由，正如我的「南方以南」經驗是某種交雜在過去與現在、傳統與創新、神話與歷史來回擺動多元異質表顯的形態，希望人們能奪回串連自然、夢境、與現實的能力，在理性之中仍保有消縱即逝的靈光。
 

a firetime story
- notes to The Hidden South

The art project, The Hidden South, is an experiment that has Taitung’s indigenous townships in the South-link region as a starting point and brings contemporary art into an unknown realm to facilitate exchange with and learning from the local culture. “The south” in this context does not refers to the geographical south. Instead, it beckons a deeper spiritual world that emerges from our connection with nature when we are given an opportunity to leave existing knowledge and logic behind to perceive the world rather with bodily senses and memory. 

In the village, we often make a fire. Upon seeing the fire, it feels like that we are finally home. The power of fire not only kindles the life of civilizations, but also manifests two completely different states; it is an imagery of interweaving virtuality and reality as well as a medium that connects heaven and earth. Most of the stories and ideas in The Hidden South were born around the fire; and this is the origin of the book title, “a firetime story.” My experience of “the hidden south” has been a certain diverse and heterogenous oscillating process between past and present, tradition and innovation as well as myths and histories. Through The Hidden South, it is hoped that people could regain the ability to connect with nature, dreams and reality, preserving the fleeting inspiration within a rational mind.