Happiness

作品賞析

HONG Tzu-Wei’s work, Happiness, uses the auspicious images often seen in Taiwanese folklife as elements. These images are also common in people's routine lives, such as: everyday photos with golden frames, calendars, auspicious paintings, etc. The word “happiness” symbolizes pairings, marriages, and the combination of two families in the Chinese family. In the picture, the images of Mandarin ducks playing in the water and flying dragon and phoenix celebrate couples growing old together, while the fruits symbolize fertility and prosperity. HONG Tzu-Wei gathers all auspicious symbols and tells the values of “Fu, Lu, Shou and Xi” symbolizing success in a traditional family. Behind the auspicious meaning, it is however difficult to resist the truth of how fragile family can be under the test of reality.