Mind Set Art Center is pleased to present the first show of the New Year: “Chihhung Liu: Serpent”. This will be Liu’s first ever exhibit at the gallery, and is scheduled to run from January 7 to February 24, 2023. “Serpent” is a common cultural symbol across many cultures, such as Vasuki in Indian mythology, the Woman in Ching City in “Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio”, the ouroboros from the Kingdom of Dahomey. It is even sacralized as the subject of pilgrimage in many regions around the world. Hence, the word “serpent” is often used to refer to the image of a snake in western folklore and mythologies. Among Taiwan’s indigenous people, the hundred pace snake is seen by the Paiwan and Drekay people as the symbol of their ancestors’ spirit, whereas the Bunun people consider the serpent as trustworthy friends. Across Eastern and Western culture, the serpent is often portrayed as intelligent communicators, such as the talking basilisk in “Harry Potter” and the many serpent-inspired religious symbols that carry rich significance in mathematics, philosophy (cycle/infinity) and rebirth. The serpent is also connected to sound and posture in the act of snake charming. Its image is also concretized and popularized as the Staff of Moses. These symbols and representations all carry significance in different cultures. During his art residency at the European Ceramic Work Centre in 2021, Liu studied the flow of information across different materials, cultures and music. Liu has built upon his studies and created a series of ceramic-based sound installations and sculptures to recreate the relationship between sound, cultural symbols and objects. By creating instruments and interpreting sound, Liu pushes the possibilities of modern communications.
The largest ceramic sound installation in the exhibition, “Serpent and Drum” is centered around a Nigerian percussion instrument called “Udu”, combined with several ocarinas and built on a mixture of indigenous black mud, sand and gravel. The installation is a concoction of objects that make sound from different cultures. It represents Liu’s research in several fields, including the sound resonance in cylindrical structures and the significance of folk instruments and music. The work takes the shape of a bee hive, and its auditory output is a random mixture of sound from four separate channels. The creation and presentation of “Serpent and Drum” is imbued with serpent-like elements, such as the slander shape of the instrument and the shadows they project, as well as the rhythmic percussion that evoke the music of snake charmers.
About Artist
Chihhung Liu was born in Taiwan’s Hsinchu County. He currently lives and works in Taipei as a freelance artist. In recent years, Liu focuses on capturing the experience of modern life and constructing narratives from the everyday perspective. With artistic creations spanning a variety of mediums, including paintings, ceramic sculptures, installations, landscapes, short films, found objects and paper-based publications, Liu explores subjects such as the kinetic energy of materials, the transfer of languages and the connection with local culture. He has recently resided in artist colonies in Europe, Asia and the Atlantic. His works have been collected by the Taipei Fine Arts Museum and the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts. Liu has received a number of prestigious awards and honors in recent years, including the Société Générale Prize of Chinese Art Awards 2010, the 2012 Yulon Wood Sculpture Innovation Award, the 2009 S-An Award, the top prize of the 2011 Taoyuan International Art Award, and was selected in multiple Taipei Art Awards.
The largest ceramic sound installation in the exhibition, “Serpent and Drum” is centered around a Nigerian percussion instrument called “Udu”, combined with several ocarinas and built on a mixture of indigenous black mud, sand and gravel. The installation is a concoction of objects that make sound from different cultures. It represents Liu’s research in several fields, including the sound resonance in cylindrical structures and the significance of folk instruments and music. The work takes the shape of a bee hive, and its auditory output is a random mixture of sound from four separate channels. The creation and presentation of “Serpent and Drum” is imbued with serpent-like elements, such as the slander shape of the instrument and the shadows they project, as well as the rhythmic percussion that evoke the music of snake charmers.
