中國制造 Made in Republic of China
凌宗廷個展｜ LING Zong-Ting Solo Exhibition
凌宗廷個展｜ LING Zong-Ting Solo Exhibition
DATES｜02 11, 2023 - 03 11, 2023
OPENING｜02 11 (15:00)
The artist will be present.
OPENING｜02 11 (15:00)
The artist will be present.
STATEMENT
"Made in China" is a term with two meanings. The former referring to the "immaterial" ideology and the latter referring to the "material" commercial products. Early on, the government employed forms of mass media such as radio and television to spread its political ideologies. Now, in the modern era, with the incredible speed of information transmission on the internet and other new forms of media, the government has succeeded in controlling the information that is put out. Due to this, the general public has developed a rejection of Chinese ideologies, yet ironically at the same time, embrace the benefits that the industrial, agricultural, cultural, entertainment and other sectors receive from China. If one is to examine the items around them, one would find that the label "Made in China" is prevalent on most products. Due to the globalization of economy, where businesses strive to maximize profits and investments, they tend to turn to China for the low cost of base products. LING Zong-Ting shows rejection of "Made in China" by giving his perspective on the arts and culture industries via artistic creation. He asserts that ultimately, Taiwan is unable to escape dependence on China. In addition, he describes the contradiction of resisting China, yet also accepting products from China.
After the wars, many European philosophers believed that in reality, society has stagnated, and only art has made significant breakthroughs. As the German Frankfurt School scholar Theodor W. Adorno said, art should exert its negative dialectical ability, especially under the pressure of cultural industry, where people are gradually losing their critical thinking ability and subjectivity. Under cultural hegemony, how can art continue to speak without being suppressed? In the capitalist environment, how can art avoid becoming a byproduct of the market economy? This exhibition presents LING Zong-Ting's observations of society since university. Adopting a non-radical critical approach, he guides the audience to witness and reflect on Taiwan's history, current issues and identity problems in a complex way.
With the progression of history, the iteration of ideologies have rendered the concept of self-identity problematic. Identity validation has become dynamic, constantly spreading in the body, and repeatedly disassembling and reconstructing itself. Several urgent events concern-ing the modern Taiwan, from being colonized and manipulated by political powers to the recent tension across the Taiwan Strait, have made it inevitable for the contemporary people to think about an important issue-what are the key elements of Taiwanese spirit? This is also a great concern of LING Zong-Ting.
After the wars, many European philosophers believed that in reality, society has stagnated, and only art has made significant breakthroughs. As the German Frankfurt School scholar Theodor W. Adorno said, art should exert its negative dialectical ability, especially under the pressure of cultural industry, where people are gradually losing their critical thinking ability and subjectivity. Under cultural hegemony, how can art continue to speak without being suppressed? In the capitalist environment, how can art avoid becoming a byproduct of the market economy? This exhibition presents LING Zong-Ting's observations of society since university. Adopting a non-radical critical approach, he guides the audience to witness and reflect on Taiwan's history, current issues and identity problems in a complex way.
With the progression of history, the iteration of ideologies have rendered the concept of self-identity problematic. Identity validation has become dynamic, constantly spreading in the body, and repeatedly disassembling and reconstructing itself. Several urgent events concern-ing the modern Taiwan, from being colonized and manipulated by political powers to the recent tension across the Taiwan Strait, have made it inevitable for the contemporary people to think about an important issue-what are the key elements of Taiwanese spirit? This is also a great concern of LING Zong-Ting.