親愛的，親吻我，然後，再會

My dear, kiss me and goodbye

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2020 / 霓虹燈、震動裝置

2020 / neon light, vibrate device

 

這件作品位於綠洲山莊入口處，八卦樓正中央，王鼎曄把原本是監視、監禁的空間，轉變成抒情的場域；以霓虹燈管塑形的感性字句，重新定義展覽期間人們在此相遇的社會情境;揮動異常溫柔的手勢，回擊國家機器的暴力。

 

王鼎曄自述：「與時代對抗下的犧牲，人民與國家機器的對抗，這些無以名狀的悲泣，身為一位白色恐怖受難者的後代，我不停的在揣摩那個時代的氛圍，並且找尋那解不開的真相，就在閱讀眾多受難者的遺書後，我用台語寫下了：『親愛的，請你親吻我，然後，再會。』」霓虹燈管寫就的文字閃爍在肅殺的監獄空間裡，顯得柔媚而近乎詭異。對照之下，門外綠洲山莊牆上，碩大無朋的政治標語：正中央大大的「誠」字，和兩邊排開的「守法守紀、崇法務實」，顯得荒謬而諷刺。

 

儘管1972-1987年間，綠洲山莊未曾執行過槍決，這件作品卻以遺書般決絕的姿態，告別巨大他者（國家、社會、法律等等）的箝制與規範，以放任個人欲望的方式，讓個體倫理的終極之善得以彰顯。王鼎曄以白恐受難者後代的身份，以此件感性的作品撫慰受難者，並對國家暴力進行揶揄。

 

This artwork is located by the entrance of the Oasis Villa, in the middle of the Bagua Building. WANG Ding-Yeh has transformed the space, which was originally a place of incarceration that was under surveillance, into one that is lyrical and full of sentiments. Emotive words are shaped with neon light tubes, with the social setting experienced by people when they come to the site redefined during the exhibition period. The artwork wields an unusually gentle gesture that strikes back at the violence of the state machine.

 

WANG describes in his artist statement, “The sacrifices made to confront the times, the resistance between the people and the state machine, the inexplicable mourning, as a descendant of a White Terror victim, I can’t stop trying to simulate the ambiance of that era and to search for the truth that feels unresolvable. After reading many final letters written by victims of White Terror, I wrote down these words using the Taiwanese language, “Dear, please give me a kiss, and then, farewell.” The words written using neon light tubes flicker inside the solemn prison, appearing so gentle and lovely yet almost peculiar. A grandiose political slogan is written right in the center on the wall of the Oasis Villa, which shows a giant, single Chinese character that stands for “Honesty”（誠）, with two lines at the side that read, “Obey the Law, Be Disciplined, Respect the Law, Be Pragmatic”; the juxtaposition appears absurd and ironic.

 

Although no execution by shooting has ever taken place at the Oasis Villa in 1951-1987, this artwork, nevertheless, has chosen a stance that bids farewell to the constraints and the norms imposed by the “Big Others” (the nation, society, the law, and etc.). With personal desires set free, it allows the ultimate benevolence embodied in individual ethics to show thorough. As a descendant of a White Terror victim, WANG has created this perceptual, emotional artwork to comfort the victims and to also ridicule state violence.