Still Looking for Direction

作品賞析

“Still Looking for Direction” is an entire series of works by artist Jheng Cyuan that explores Taiwan’s contemporary social phenomena. Here, by a dark intersection, under a weak streetlight, a group of dung beetles in academic robes are gathered together, uncertain about where they will go next. They are like Taiwan’s students, who are often so dominated by the pursuit of higher education that they neglect to explore their own interests, so that when they graduate, they still feel as if they are in the dark, unable to see the road ahead. The artist used black ink to render a large part of the picture but retained some light and extended the perspective into the distance. If you look closely, you can find that there is another group of confused-looking graduates in the distance. The artist chose to use anthropomorphized dung beetles, which are round and cute, as figures for discussing serious social issues—and to arouse the interest of viewers. In addition, acrylic paints and traditional ink are used together, and the drier textures of the road markings and bright areas are used to bring out the visual focus.