Liao Wen 廖雯
I Swallow the Tide to Light Up… 我吞吐潮汐只为照亮……, 2024
Sculpture: hand-carved and painted limewood, stainless steel, natural gemstone beads, glass beads, copper threads, brass bells, leather drum, natural dye silk, nylon rope, grains, automobile grease, sea shells, 3D-printed stainless steel, vegetable-tanned cowhide and swine leather, polyurethane foam, silicone, nylon fabric
Video of live performance: single-channel color 4K video with sound
雕塑：手工雕刻和上色椴木，不锈钢，天然石珠，琉璃珠，铜丝，铜铃铛，牛皮鼓，自然染色绡，尼龙绳，谷物，机油，贝壳，3D打印不锈钢，植鞣牛皮和猪皮，聚氨酯泡沫，硅胶，尼龙布料
现场表演视频：彩色有声单频4K影像
Video of live performance: single-channel color 4K video with sound
雕塑：手工雕刻和上色椴木，不锈钢，天然石珠，琉璃珠，铜丝，铜铃铛，牛皮鼓，自然染色绡，尼龙绳，谷物，机油，贝壳，3D打印不锈钢，植鞣牛皮和猪皮，聚氨酯泡沫，硅胶，尼龙布料
现场表演视频：彩色有声单频4K影像
Sculpture 雕塑: 175 x 323 x 56 cm; 69 x 127 x 22 in
Video 视频: 11'43"
Video 视频: 11'43"
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A gigantic whale hangs from the ceiling. Its bones are precisely numbered and its spine extends to a tail where perpendicular metal rods are inserted. Blood spills from its mouth....
A gigantic whale hangs from the ceiling. Its bones are precisely numbered and its spine extends to a tail where perpendicular metal rods are inserted. Blood spills from its mouth. During the exhibition, the scientific, specimen-like depiction of the whale will be activated – if not completed – by a brutal and vehement performance, a tale of violent human interventions in our interactions with and understandings of other species.
The story unfolds similarly to the rite of Bouphonia – ‘ox-slaying’ in Greek – a sacrificial killing performed for Zeus that resembles a combat dance. All performers are implicated in the violent act against the scapegoat (the scapewhale in this case), yet all are acquitted and guiltless before the ‘trial’.
When villagers discover a whale deep in a foggy room, some are astounded by the mysterious creature, while others wish to possess a piece of it, others are driven to mathematically analyse it with tools. As the ritual crescendos, the whale’s organs are taken out one by one, and, at some point, a villager takes the tail apart and attaches it to their own body. The whale’s fragmented body remains, like the spent wicks in whale oil lamps. Humanity’s deep-rooted obsession to absorb others into our own system of extraction is considered alongside the utilitarian exploitation of these planetary cohabitants as means for our convenience and well-being.
The story unfolds similarly to the rite of Bouphonia – ‘ox-slaying’ in Greek – a sacrificial killing performed for Zeus that resembles a combat dance. All performers are implicated in the violent act against the scapegoat (the scapewhale in this case), yet all are acquitted and guiltless before the ‘trial’.
When villagers discover a whale deep in a foggy room, some are astounded by the mysterious creature, while others wish to possess a piece of it, others are driven to mathematically analyse it with tools. As the ritual crescendos, the whale’s organs are taken out one by one, and, at some point, a villager takes the tail apart and attaches it to their own body. The whale’s fragmented body remains, like the spent wicks in whale oil lamps. Humanity’s deep-rooted obsession to absorb others into our own system of extraction is considered alongside the utilitarian exploitation of these planetary cohabitants as means for our convenience and well-being.