Conversation in Silence | 沉默的對話
15.11.2014 - 09.06.2015, Chinese ink and watercolour on rice paper, 48 pieces in total
Life isn't getting any better for my father since he had a stroke three years ago. After he lost his elder son – my elder brother – my father seemed to have lost interest in life. Staying with him under the same roof was harder than ever. The day I arrived at his place in Taiwan, I started drawing objects around me again. This time I also wrote down what they meant to me. It was a conversation in silence. When I returned to my Toronto home, I continued this conversation by myself.
在失去大兒子之後, 中風三年的父親對生命益顯消沉, 日日在煙霧撩繞的尼古丁中尋求慰藉. 對我而言, 與他相處在一個屋簷下的日子大不易. 於是從我回到台灣的第一天開始, 我就拿出紙筆, 用簡單的方式畫周遭的東西, 換取我們中間一點"沉默的對話". 回到多倫多的家我獨自繼續這對話.
Life isn't getting any better for my father since he had a stroke three years ago. After he lost his elder son – my elder brother – my father seemed to have lost interest in life. Staying with him under the same roof was harder than ever. The day I arrived at his place in Taiwan, I started drawing objects around me again. This time I also wrote down what they meant to me. It was a conversation in silence. When I returned to my Toronto home, I continued this conversation by myself.
在失去大兒子之後, 中風三年的父親對生命益顯消沉, 日日在煙霧撩繞的尼古丁中尋求慰藉. 對我而言, 與他相處在一個屋簷下的日子大不易. 於是從我回到台灣的第一天開始, 我就拿出紙筆, 用簡單的方式畫周遭的東西, 換取我們中間一點"沉默的對話". 回到多倫多的家我獨自繼續這對話.
Selected pieces for English translation:
Key and key chain belong to each other. Key belongs to a certain door, key chain gives key character and indicates it belongs to someone special.
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I said to father, "Since you are doing nothing, be my model." I finished drawing within 10 minutes. At the same time, he fell asleep. A profile of a stubborn senior. (He signed his name beautifully for this portrait.)
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Life is like the bittersweet dark chocolates in this box. The taste may start bitter, but lead to the sweetness beyond the bitterness – lead us to slowly appreciate the whole of it.
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This delicate chinaware is one of the few things mother insisted to keep in her late simple life. "It's one of life's pieces of art," she always used to say.
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These 33 cigarette butts were collected from the past 48 hours. Father argued that life without smoking is not good for his heart.
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This bitter melon is now mature on father's little balcony. It survived because no insect was interested in it's bitter taste. The little bit of magic from Mother Nature has brought us great joy.
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This cute little porcelain cub used to be my daughter's plant container by her window. Many years have gone by – little cub still is a little cub. It is now my good friend who accompanies me by my desk all the time.
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