Hiding a Tree in a Forest - Artists' Cabinets of Curiosities

As art has become more accessible over time, the public has grown accustomed to viewing artworks in dedicated spaces. Exhibition visits have become a regular part of our lives, whether for educational purposes or leisure. While artworks have always been the primary focus of exhibitions, physical constraints often render artists invisible behind their creations. Unless one carefully reads the information labels or conducts additional online research, most people's knowledge of the artist remains shrouded in mystery.

In recent years, recreating artists' studio spaces has become increasingly important in exhibitions. Audience curiosity now extends beyond the artworks themselves, as people seek to understand the creative process through various means of "approaching" the artist.

"The allure and uniqueness of an artist's role in society are key to shaping the value of their work."

Art Bank Taiwan aims to bring artists into the spotlight through a range of curatorial strategies and creative collaborations. In celebration of our 10th anniversary, we created a thematic section on our website, inviting artists to share insights into their creative journeys as well as their lives outside their artistic careers.Building on this concept, we now present Hiding a Tree in a Forest: Artists' Cabinets of Curiosities, a series of exhibitions staged in display windows, each showcasing the personal collections of a different artist. These windows offer a glimpse into the sources of an artist's creative energy and reveal the human side of their collecting habits.

An Artist's Cabinet of Curiosities

The idea of a "Cabinet of Curiosities" originated from spaces used by European aristocrats to collect and display rare artifacts, eventually becoming one of the precursors to modern museums.

In this exhibition series, artists' collections serve as repositories of creative inspiration, similar to keyword search results. The artists' love for these objects and the imagination they inspire nourish creative activities.

The exhibition's title, "Hiding a Tree in a Forest," is a quote from Tao Hui Shu (literally The Art of Hiding One's Light Under a Bushel) by YANG Shen (1488-1559).

It conveys the idea that a tree hidden in a forest becomes invisible to the public, a metaphor advising talented individuals to keep a low profile.

We reinterpret this concept: by "hiding" artists' works among their collections, we enable viewers to see both the "tree" and the "forest." Our hope is that audiences will recognize how the artists' works reflect the rich cultural, political, scientific, and social contexts embodied in their collected objects.

Collection: Vintage Ceramic Parrots Made in Taiwan

Vintage Ceramic Parrots—Exoticism and Localization

Parrots (parakeets) were once one of the most widely produced categories of ceramic ornaments in Taiwan. A romantic story suggests that artisans in Yingge were inspired by the name of this ceramics production hub, which sounded like the Chinese name for a "parakeet". However, the true predecessors of these ceramic parrots trace back to Japan, where they were produced for export in earlier days.

After World War II, Japan was occupied by the U.S. The U.S. transferred many labor-intensive industries, such as ceramics, to Japan. Products exported during the U.S. occupation period were labeled as "Made in Occupied Japan". Even after this period ended, Japan's ceramic ornaments  for export were almost exclusively in  western styles and themes, catering to those markets. To this day, we can still easily find many of these pieces in U.S. thrift stores, labeled "Made in Japan." As Japan’s economy recovered, Taiwan took over as the next low-cost production base and was ambitiously building itself as the world's factory. The ceramic parrot prototypes were likely introduced to Taiwan during this transition.

Ring Toss
Taiwanese media have reported that the ring toss game, common at night markets across Taiwan, was invented by ceramics manufacturers to boost slow sales. However, both the production of ceramic ornaments and the ring toss game have earlier, recorded Western roots, and Taiwan’s version is a local adaptation.

Ring toss has a long history in the West. In the Middle Ages, it was recorded that farmers would curve a horseshoe into a ring and throw it at stakes in their fields for fun in their spare time, which evolved into the modern game of quoits. The rules for quoits were first published in 1881 in the British magazine The Field, marking the game’s earliest record.

A variation called hoopla, which is less competitive, was later popularized by British fair vendors. The original wooden stakes and bottles were replaced by ceramic dolls and other ornaments to entice customers to play. It became a common fair game as early as the middle of the 19th century, and the prizes gained from this type of fair game have even been given a specific name: "fairings".

The entertaining and challenging fair game spread worldwide, with people adopting the more intuitive names "hoopla" or "ring toss." In Taiwan, it's called "tao quan quan." Though different versions of the game emerged worldwide—some altering the layout or materials—the basic rules have remained largely unchanged.

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Artist

WU Chuan-Lun

On Art Creation, I Would Like to Say...
"Collecting old things for so long makes me feel like we've already manufactured too much. It seems that whether or not we create something else doesn’t really matter."

For a long time, I've been trying to see collecting as a hobby separate from my artwork because I like the simple enjoyment it gives me, often more than working on art. I like to imagine the maker's thoughts and appreciate the unintended pleasure it brings me. Artworks are also human-made products, but they often feel burdensome, making it harder for me to enjoy them from within. This makes me unsure of the nature of art creation itself. It seems I don’t want to take creation too seriously—it's more enjoyable to engage in something undefined, something that doesn't necessarily need to be made. I suppose this explains why my artistic path has developed as it has—an honest reflection of my mindset.

Works

Featured Works: What I Learn from the Mountain and the Sea,  2021

Medium: inkjet photo paper, framed on aluminum

Max Size: 38.7 × 47.7 cm, 68.25 × 42.75 cm, 75.25 × 63 cm, 39.75 × 45.15 cm, 48.65 × 36.5 cm, 61.5 × 43 cm, 30 × 42.65 cm