 |
| Yao Jui-Chung, Mt. Jade Floating, Single Channel Video, Colorful, 1' 01", 2007 © Yao Jui-Chung |
Out of three films in Yao Jui-Chung (姚瑞中)'s latest show Phantom of History, two are two minutes and twenty-eight seconds long. Yao Jui-Chung said he didn't intend to make a reference to the 228 Incident, it was just a coincidence. Perhaps what revolves around these three sensitive numbers is a task that political language would gladly carry out, but it probably doesn't lie within the province of art, at least not now. What attracts my attention is that Yao Jui-Chung seized this coincidence and then played on its dark humor.
Perhaps we should say that the stories Yao Jui-Chung wants to tell in Phantom of History and Liberation of Taiwan are basically ghost stories concerned with how the ghosts of the authoritarian era make their presence felt in society today. Anyone who grew up in Taiwan during the cross-strait cold war can easily detect the atmosphere of the authoritarianism in Yao's artwork. However, this reading doesn't possess the necessary emotional construct to create feelings of nostalgia, instead, Yao Jui-Chung gives us even more delightful parodies and fantastic thoughts. In his work, the two opposing yet great historical undertakings of recovering the Mainland and liberating Taiwan never seems to be taken too seriously. Therefore, when we watch the grandiose scene of the Generalissimo reviewing troops for National Day celebrations beside the ever-shrinking presidential palace, we can't help but split our sides with laughter. In another film, when the national anthem starts to play, we see a PLA soldier donning his red star insignia hat and successfully occupying the peak of Taiwan's Jade Mountain, and Yao Jui-Chung quietly mutters, “Finally, he's liberated Taiwan.” All done with minimal effort.
