Conversation | 對話
2012-2014, Chinese ink on rice paper, +200 pieces (Selected pieces below)
Conversation is a personal project that began in 2012 when I visited Taiwan to take care of my father, with whom I had a broken relationship from a lifetime of painful struggles. Using the simplest method of depiction – black ink on white rice paper – I drew the objects around my father’s apartment. What appear to be simple ink drawings in fact started with nothing but a simple goal: to break the silence between us. Every day, in the short span of ten minutes, my father and I would sit face-to-face at a small table, and I would look at the object and draw. My father would look at the object and talk about it. Our eyes do not meet, but we have a conversation. It’s a good start.
“對話”, 一場破冰之旅, 是我個人從2012年回臺灣陪伴中風後父親的圖畫日誌. 因為成長階段父親長期缺席, 我們父女關係疏離淡陌, 為了打破我們在屋簷下無話可說的難堪, 我在因緣際遇之下, 用最簡單的方式, 黑墨與白紙, 速畫父親小公寓裡的東西. 每天短短十多分鐘, 我和父親面對面坐在小餐桌前, 我畫隨手從屋內取來的東西的同時, 父親看著我畫, 然後娓娓道來這東西的由來或背後故事. 我們的眼睛並不相望, 但我們有了”對話”, 這是個好的開始!
Conversation is a personal project that began in 2012 when I visited Taiwan to take care of my father, with whom I had a broken relationship from a lifetime of painful struggles. Using the simplest method of depiction – black ink on white rice paper – I drew the objects around my father’s apartment. What appear to be simple ink drawings in fact started with nothing but a simple goal: to break the silence between us. Every day, in the short span of ten minutes, my father and I would sit face-to-face at a small table, and I would look at the object and draw. My father would look at the object and talk about it. Our eyes do not meet, but we have a conversation. It’s a good start.
“對話”, 一場破冰之旅, 是我個人從2012年回臺灣陪伴中風後父親的圖畫日誌. 因為成長階段父親長期缺席, 我們父女關係疏離淡陌, 為了打破我們在屋簷下無話可說的難堪, 我在因緣際遇之下, 用最簡單的方式, 黑墨與白紙, 速畫父親小公寓裡的東西. 每天短短十多分鐘, 我和父親面對面坐在小餐桌前, 我畫隨手從屋內取來的東西的同時, 父親看著我畫, 然後娓娓道來這東西的由來或背後故事. 我們的眼睛並不相望, 但我們有了”對話”, 這是個好的開始!
Dec. 24, 2013 - Jan. 11, 2014
As an elderly stroke survivor, nothing was easy for my father. Everyday motions like seeing, hearing, chewing, and moving became arduous tasks. In such a life, simple joys like eating well are often the only happy moments in long days spent mostly waiting for time to pass. With ink and paper I recorded the different foods my father enjoyed during this stay in Taiwan. It's as if our conversations now have flavour of their own.
對一個視茫茫髮蒼蒼齒牙動搖又行動不便的中風老者來說 用緬懷過往情緒交錯來消蘑漫漫長日之外 吃得一味好是生命中的真實享受。僅用筆墨和白紙記錄下父親在這段期間所享用的各式台日特色食物。我與父親的'對話'於是乎多了些"味道".
As an elderly stroke survivor, nothing was easy for my father. Everyday motions like seeing, hearing, chewing, and moving became arduous tasks. In such a life, simple joys like eating well are often the only happy moments in long days spent mostly waiting for time to pass. With ink and paper I recorded the different foods my father enjoyed during this stay in Taiwan. It's as if our conversations now have flavour of their own.
對一個視茫茫髮蒼蒼齒牙動搖又行動不便的中風老者來說 用緬懷過往情緒交錯來消蘑漫漫長日之外 吃得一味好是生命中的真實享受。僅用筆墨和白紙記錄下父親在這段期間所享用的各式台日特色食物。我與父親的'對話'於是乎多了些"味道".
