Artwork Appreciation
CHEN Yen-Chih’s Family Tour depicts a sky with strangely colored clouds floating above a barren plain with no plants except for a few Rafflesia flowers known for its sickly odor. A mother and her two children stand amongst these flowers, their expressions deliberately smudged and blurred. The mother is shown holding the hands of a marionette instead of her husband. CHEN Yen-Chih utilized this work to express the pain of losing a loved one. Even a wonderful family vacation is sufficient in reminding him of the loss, yet the composition serves as a means to express his wishes for a complete and blissful moment.