Artwork Appreciation
The artist Wu Chien-Hsing’s creations have always focused on the flow of time and connecting experiences of past, present, and future. This video work, Exploring the Microcosm of the Body, begins with the idea of the legendary astronomical phenomenon of “nine planets strung together like pearls” crossing through time and space. We see a nude female actor from the back, and Chinese medicinal powders, minerals, and other powders are set on her back, like a chart representing the nine planets. Their patterns are then imprinted on her back by the traditional medicinal technique of “cupping,” thereby creating the relationships between the body, material substances, and personal feelings. After the light appears at the end, the body is returned to its original appearance, without any marks. Wu Chien-Hsing uses physical scars and recovery as metaphors that suggest past painful experiences and the process of repairing trauma, while the images are used as medium for preserving time. By watching and reflecting on their own pasts and presents, the audience also travels through time and space.