Earth・Islands・Taiwan

作品賞析

For two years, the artist Liu Tsung-Jung would step on the soil, planting rice and weeding the fields, taking care of the earth in a non-toxic, friendly way. This experience made him reflect on the relationship between people and the land, and he developed the “Earth・Islands・Taiwan” series. In his Earth・Islands・Taiwan: Dazhi, which depicts a view of Taiwan’s main island as seen from the sea, Liu Tsung-Jung used Western oil and acrylic paints to shape the undulating mountains, but the resulting landscape also has a strong ink painting flavor. He also used white oil paint to separate aspects of the scenery. He included numerous man-made things such as factories and chimneys along the coast. He regards acrylic itself as a kind of plastic, so he covered the sky and ocean in the painting with a thin layer of white acrylic color to symbolize the ubiquitous plastic. Cultivating rice brought him closer to life, while participating in beach-cleaning activities made him reflect on how man-made things have permeated nature. Through his art, he expresses his thoughts: that symbiosis with nature is not an option, and that the strength of human resolve will ultimately determine the “distance between people and the land.”