Artwork Appreciation
Artist Teng Po-Jen is adept at developing innovative photographic techniques and themes. In his series of works, “Farewell to the Fox,” he engages young people in conversations from which he will develop a theme, and then he will invite them to pose for the photograph and physically “act out” what they had talked about. Farewell to the Fox—183 was created after he had talked with a young man in Guizhou. The scene depicted incorporates one from Guizhou’s traditional “local opera,” so it has strong hints of Guizhou culture. The young woman on horseback is dressed in local opera costume, which are heavily decorated and feature elaborate headdresses. One rides a horse, and the mist in the wilderness around the couple creates a feeling of fantasy. The young man liked indicated that he liked geese, which are free and beautiful, so in the picture, the young woman on horseback has her arms stretched back, like a bird with wings spread. Teng uses his conversations as a means of returning to his own youth, but through such staged performances and photography, he gives the landscape of youth fixed images.