Voyage with the Tailwind (2) from Island to Island

作品賞析

Artist Lin Cheng took the Age of Exploration as background to this series, and based on documents on shipbuilding, nautical charts, maps, and so on, tried to reconstruct Taiwan’s historical memory through the perspectives of different ethnic groups, such as the Han people in southern Fujian and Europeans, and then present his personal ideas.This work is drawn from a high-altitude perspective, allowing the viewer to look back at past history from a godlike perspective. The recessed Japanese sunken gold paper mounting at both ends of the painting represent the line with which Portugal and Spain divided the world outside Europe at that time. We see the island of Taiwan behind the ship, and to the left is Macao, already with its architectural landmarks, but Taiwan is still blank. This reflects the spread of European colonialism at the time. Meanwhile, the large junk in the painting is the kind that carried people to Taiwan during the Ming and Qing dynasties. The title is what would usually be written on the stern of the ship (which does not appear here); it is a prayer for safe voyage on a tailwind.