Artist Chang Ling, who focuses on reflecting social issues and phenomena in his creations, recently held a solo exhibition titled "Preparation before the War" at MoCA Studio, Taipei's contemporary art museum's experimental space, as a response to current global issues. Despite the world gradually recovering from the pandemic crisis, it also faces problems such as economic recession, inflation, and the continuation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, all of which seem to signal the approaching of a crisis, prompting us to consider how to face and prepare for it. Chang Ling's exhibition, " War Preparation," reorganizes his artistic language by reflecting on the state of preparation "before the war," exploring issues from emergency evacuation and the supply of daily necessities to more immediate survival issues. Through media such as painting and installation, he presents a multifaceted view of the artist's observation of society. The exhibition hopes to raise public awareness of the global situation and encourage everyone to consider how to prepare for future challenges.
In this exhibition, the artist Chang Ling has chosen to showcase his long-term creative focus, the “Illusion “Society” series. These works depict various aspects of daily life and human nature throughout history, revealing the true desires hidden beneath the illusory reality and presenting another narrow and distorted reality beyond our current one. Through the use of dramatic and vivid brushstrokes, the artist portrays the fear and anxiety people face in unknown situations or the willful ignorance of continuing their mad lifestyles. The artist reassembles the collective memory through a subjective lens, covering and altering history in a way that creates a new interpretation.
In addition to the “Illusion Societ” series, the exhibition also features the "Pseudo-arrogance" series, which branches out into another reality within the expanded memory. The artist collected the old photographs in the works over 20 years ago, capturing the daily life and history of Taiwan. The artist draws new images on top of the photographs, allowing the brushstrokes to interweave with their subjective memories, abstractly inflating into a self-important "exchange of history" that disturbs reality through their own recollections. These works reflect the artist's unique perspective and reflection on social issues and phenomena in a distinctive way.
War Preparation─Chang Ling Solo Exhibition
Curator: Lin Yu-Chin
Date: 2023.3.11-2023.5.7
Venue: MoCA Studio/ NO.39 Chang-An West Road Taipei, Taiwan
Photos by Han Hsiang Ning
