The world is similar but slightly different. Park for young and old

作品賞析

For artist Chuang Tsung-Hsun, taking his children to the park to burn off their energy is essential part of his parenting routine. This led him to observe parks and attractions more closely. Building on these observation, he has created many related works since 2007. In the piece titled The World’s Generally the Same All Over, With Minor Differences: A Park for Young and Old, an old man in a vest on the right watches a child sliding down the slide from a distance. The artist simplifies the playground equipment and figures and uses a medium to long-range perspective, in order to make the composition look like a group of toy models embodying a sense of childlike playfulness. However, the artist also uses grayscale tones to create an atmosphere of alienation, expressing the sadness that parents feel when their children grow up. Chuang Tsung-Hsun uses solid-color backgrounds and simple images to clearly convey his ideas. His first depiction of elderly people not only symbolizes a transition in his own stage of life, but also implies the social issues of Taiwan’s aging population and declining birthrate.